Phil Free
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philfree.bsky.social
Phil Free
@philfree.bsky.social
Politics, economics, planet - I live in Essex, UK.
Israel’s Collective Amnesia
jewishcurrents.org/israels-coll...
Israel’s Collective Amnesia
Even as Israel continues killing Gazans, its liberals are ready to forget the genocide.
jewishcurrents.org
February 7, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Is Universal Childcare the Democrats’ Winning Issue This Year?
newrepublic.com/article/2055...
Is Universal Childcare the Democrats’ Winning Issue This Year?
The policy is catching fire in the party as a key plank in addressing the affordability crisis. The question is whether it will motivate midterm voters this fall.
newrepublic.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Trump Still Only Has “Concepts of a Plan” for Health Care Reform
newrepublic.com/article/2053...
Trump Still Only Has “Concepts of a Plan” for Health Care Reform
His “Great Healthcare Plan” is anything but.
newrepublic.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:06 PM
“In Salt Lake City, a mix of genuine ideological affinity for the idea of the refugee, fostered by the Mormon Church, & a cultural tendency toward minding one’s business, has engendered a sort of recalcitrant support for immigrants.”
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
The Red-State City That’s Doing Immigration Right
In an increasingly xenophobic country, Salt Lake City’s benevolent attitude toward immigrants is a strange anomaly. Can its unusual political culture somehow show us the way forward?
newrepublic.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:45 PM
“These days, it’s increasingly likely that if you’re a member of an organisation that grants you even a shred of public visibility—a university, a church, a political party—there is someone waiting, pen in hand, to add you to a list of your own.”
www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-t...
A Theory of the List
From runaway slave lists to Canary Mission, the state has long deputized citizens to enforce its will.
www.bostonreview.net
February 7, 2026 at 6:16 PM
"Leadership Would Like Your Help": Indian Billionaire Tapped Jeffrey Epstein Before Modi's Visits to U.S. & Israel
open.substack.com/pub/dropsite...
"Leadership Would Like Your Help": Indian Billionaire Tapped Jeffrey Epstein Before Modi's Visits to U.S. and Israel
New Department of Justice documents reveal Epstein’s direct role in fostering ties between Indian, Israeli, and U.S. elites.
open.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:20 PM
“The wealth extracted from India by the UK’s richest 10% would be enough to carpet the surface area of London in £50 notes almost four times over.”

The poverty & unearned wealth of colonialism
open.substack.com/pub/equals/p...
The poverty and unearned wealth of colonialism
How historical and modern-day colonialism fuels inequality
open.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:31 PM
“Plankton is neither progressive or conservative; it simply photosynthesises. Aligning blue #degrowth with a blue moral economy invites a shared mission to keep Earth’s lungs breathing. Without a living ocean there’s no #postgrowth, only post-everything.”
www.sufficiencywellbeing.com/p/when-suffi...
When sufficiency meets seawater: Building a blue moral economy
The sufficiency and wellbeing economy movement can’t end at the shoreline.
www.sufficiencywellbeing.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:17 PM
“Humans should not feel like gods on earth. Contempt sets in for their fellow creatures. It’s why so many of the rich & famous end up in such a dark place, from committing sexual crimes to getting into race science.

This is the house that rampant capitalism built.”
open.substack.com/pub/thechaff...
Aristocracy 2.0
In the middle of the twentieth century, a whole bunch of Western powers tried something new: social democracy.
open.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Top US Lobby API Targets Landmark EU Climate Law, Policy Document Shows
www.desmog.com/2026/01/28/t...
Top U.S. Oil Lobby API Targets Landmark EU Climate Law, Policy Document Shows
The declaration coincides with U.S. fossil fuel companies’ use of Trump’s trade tensions and international discord to undermine EU climate laws.
www.desmog.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Blind psychologist fears losing job after DWP slashed her Access to Work support
www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Blind psychologist fears losing job after DWP slashed her Access to Work support
Cuts to the DWP's Access to Work support could force a visually impaired clinical psychologist out of her NHS role.
www.bigissue.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Melancholy, Allegory and Tyranny
Reading the Ruins with Walter Benjamin
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Israeli agricultural exports face looming ‘collapse’ as world rejects products over Gaza genocide
mondoweiss.net/2026/01/isra...
Israeli agricultural exports face looming ‘collapse’ as world rejects products over Gaza genocide
Israeli farmers warn the country’s agricultural export industry is facing a looming “collapse” due to international opposition to the Gaza genocide. Recent reports show the impact of boycotting Israel...
mondoweiss.net
February 6, 2026 at 10:50 PM
George Orwell called for a new way of thinking about science
theconversation.com/george-orwel...
George Orwell called for a new way of thinking about science
Orwell argued that you don’t have to be a scientist to think more scientifically.
theconversation.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:26 PM