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philfree.bsky.social
Phil Free
@philfree.bsky.social
870 followers 840 following 8.4K posts
Politics, economics, planet - I live in Essex, UK.
Posts Replies Media Videos
philfree.bsky.social
This Is the Real SNAP Fraud
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
This Is the Real SNAP Fraud
Scammers steal billions of dollars in food stamps from needy people every year. Why isn’t Congress doing anything to stop them?
newrepublic.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:42 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Mohammed Harbi Was Algeria’s Revolutionary Historian
jacobin.com/2026/02/moha...
Mohammed Harbi Was Algeria’s Revolutionary Historian
Mohammed Harbi went from participating in Algeria’s independence struggle to writing some of the most important books about its history. Harbi, who died last month at the age of 92, was a creative Mar...
jacobin.com
February 14, 2026 at 6:50 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“In other words, we are sold the myth that the language of legality is preferable to the language of morality because it is impartial & fixed. But as this whole dispute makes plain, that is least apt to be true precisely when it matters most.”
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Moral Stupefaction of the American Public
Trump’s boat strikes will seek cover in the same specious legality debate the Bush administration sowed with the torture memos.
www.bostonreview.net
February 14, 2026 at 6:11 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“All local authorities must take account of this important court order which will benefit disabled people across the country.”

Council admits discrimination after DWP ‘migration’ left disabled couple with £1,500 tax bill - @johnpring.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/council-admi...
Council admits discrimination after DWP ‘migration’ left disabled couple with £1,500 tax bill
A local authority has admitted discriminating against a disabled couple who were left with a significant new council tax bill after they were forced to move onto universal credit. The legal victory…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:51 PM
philfree.bsky.social
People with learning difficulties ‘could be collateral damage’ if assisted dying bill becomes law - @johnpring.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/people-with-...
People with learning difficulties ‘could be collateral damage’ if assisted dying bill becomes law
A disabled peer has raised fears that people with learning difficulties could be “collateral damage” if a controversial assisted suicide bill becomes law. The terminally ill adults (end of life) bi…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:38 PM
philfree.bsky.social
One in five assessors have not had vital safeguarding training, despite years of DWP deaths - @johnpring.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/one-in-five-...
One in five assessors have not had vital safeguarding training, despite years of DWP deaths
One in five staff employed by contractors who carry out disability benefit assessments on the government’s behalf have not had vital safeguarding training, MPs have been told, despite years of deat…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:18 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Work & Freedom (or lack thereof)
open.substack.com/pub/equals/p...
Work and Freedom
By Max Lawson
open.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:29 PM
philfree.bsky.social
AIPAC Coordinates Donors in Illinois House Primaries
open.substack.com/pub/dropsite...
AIPAC Coordinates Donors in Illinois House Primaries
Three Democratic candidates are benefiting from dark-money super PACs, and they share hundreds of donors who have previously given to AIPAC and its subsidiaries.
open.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:03 PM
philfree.bsky.social
BRITAIN'S RUNNING OUT OF WATER - @profbillmcguire.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/billmcgu...
BRITAIN'S RUNNING OUT OF WATER
So why aren't we collecting rain like Germany?
open.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:31 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“While Jeremy Bentham’s principle of utilitarianism begins with the premise that we are simply subjects of the ‘sovereign masters’ of pleasure & pain, Aristotle tells us that our happiness is a ‘virtuous activity of the soul’.”
open.substack.com/pub/awakened...
Happiness as a Virtuous Activity of the Soul
TL;DR: Aristotle taught that happiness and moral goodness go together.
open.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:14 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Starmer ally Josh Simons faces fresh questions about digging dirt on journalists
open.substack.com/pub/democrac...
Starmer ally Josh Simons faces fresh questions about digging dirt on journalists
Tory and SNP chiefs call for Labour minister Simons to ‘come clean’ as we reveal new details of PR firm’s campaign to discredit journalists
open.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:52 PM
philfree.bsky.social
‘A Disaster Waiting to Happen’: How the Fracking Boom Put an Oil Field in the Guadalupe River Floodplain
insideclimatenews.org/news/0802202...
‘A Disaster Waiting to Happen’: How the Fracking Boom Put an Oil Field in the Guadalupe River Floodplain - Inside Climate News
Lack of a state floodplain policy in Texas enabled oil companies to build in areas hit by an epic inundation less than 30 years ago.
insideclimatenews.org
February 14, 2026 at 2:37 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“Call it colonialism. Call it apartheid.
The appropriate word for a political project that systematically privileges one group & dispossess & subordinates another is racism.

Zionism—a movement I belonged to for over half my life—is a racist movement.”
www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/is-z...
Is Zionism Racism and has it always been?
A thoughtful, unequivocal look at this question considering history and personal experience. The reality of Zionism is that is it…
www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk
February 14, 2026 at 1:58 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Reform Candidate Matthew Goodwin’s MAGA Network
www.desmog.com/2026/02/13/r...
Reform Candidate Matthew Goodwin’s MAGA Network
Matthew Goodwin, Reform UK’s candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, has ties to influential groups in the orbit of U.S. President Donald Trump. Goodwin, a GB News presenter and forme...
www.desmog.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:23 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“The original sin of offsetting as a way to pay for the social cost of carbon is that this mechanism contributes to delaying green investments.” #CarbonOffsetting #CarbonMarkets #CarbonCon

An Environment for Business
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/an-...
An Environment for Business | Pedro Paulo Zahluth Bastos
Carbon markets—purported pricing of the social costs of emissions—have been for decades a favored mitigation strategy in global climate governance. There is clear evidence that markets and carbon taxe...
www.phenomenalworld.org
February 14, 2026 at 1:06 PM
philfree.bsky.social
The price of peace: US strategy & the DRC’s critical minerals
mronline.org/2026/02/11/t...
The price of peace: U.S. strategy and the DRC’s critical minerals - MR Online
Antonia Baumgartner argues that behind the promise of peace, a set of recent U.S.-backed agreements have reshaped how the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s minerals, infrastructure, and political cho...
mronline.org
February 13, 2026 at 11:40 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“The idea of a single substance underlying the plurality of sensuous experience is traceable back to pre-religious magic. The articulation of this idea in Greek philosophy is attributed to the development of coined money in the ancient economy.”
open.substack.com/pub/blackd/p...
Cults, Myths and Money - 1
Dionysus, Orpheus and Us
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:15 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Handcuffs, interrogation, humiliation: Palestinians describe Israeli treatment at Rafah crossing
mondoweiss.net/2026/02/hand...
Handcuffs, interrogation, humiliation: Palestinians describe Israeli treatment at Rafah crossing
The first Palestinians returned to Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing this week, after being stuck outside Gaza for two years or more. They described grueling interrogations, intimidation, and...
mondoweiss.net
February 13, 2026 at 10:46 PM
philfree.bsky.social
I wrote a BBC drama about hope in a ‘left-behind’ town – but Britain changed faster than I could script it
theconversation.com/i-wrote-a-bb...
I wrote a BBC drama about hope in a ‘left-behind’ town – but Britain changed faster than I could script it
I track my characters from the dog-days of the pandemic to an undisclosed near future where mainstream politics has collapsed and a populist revolt is unleashed.
theconversation.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:18 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Matt Goodwin’s ‘English ethnicity’ rhetoric: it’s important to ask why politicians want to sort people into categories
theconversation.com/matt-goodwin...
Matt Goodwin’s ‘English ethnicity’ rhetoric: it’s important to ask why politicians want to sort people into categories
The Reform candidate for Gorton and Denton has been expressing his views on what makes someone English or British.
theconversation.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:01 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Trust & ethics: the public & politicians no longer even agree on the basics
theconversation.com/trust-and-et...
Trust and ethics: the public and politicians no longer even agree on the basics
Senior politicians thought Peter Mandelson’s ability to deliver meant they could overlook his behaviour. They should have known the public wouldn’t agree.
theconversation.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:44 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Vinegar Valentines: how cruel Victorians sent insulting cards to their unwanted suitors
theconversation.com/vinegar-vale...
Vinegar Valentines: how cruel Victorians sent insulting cards to their unwanted suitors
The vile Victorians were funnier than they looked, using brutal Valentine’s Day cards to mock people they didn’t fancy much.
theconversation.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:29 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Britain’s relentless rain shows climate predictions playing out as expected
theconversation.com/britains-rel...
Britain’s relentless rain shows climate predictions playing out as expected
After an exceptionally wet start to 2026, two climate scientists explain what’s going on.
theconversation.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:14 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Lost Futures
fromarsetoelbow.blogspot.com/2026/01/lost...
Lost Futures
The suggestion that the "rules-based international order" is over is really a plea for a new narrative to explain US hegemony.
fromarsetoelbow.blogspot.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:06 PM
philfree.bsky.social
A consequence of disregarding the distribution of income
rwer.wordpress.com/2025/10/18/a...
A consequence of disregarding the distribution of income
from John Komlos . . . the common wisdom erroneously equates economic growth with rising living standards. However, survey after survey categorically contradicts this assumption: happiness and life…
rwer.wordpress.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:48 PM