Phil Free
LightNews LightNews
banner
philfree.bsky.social
Phil Free
@philfree.bsky.social
860 followers 840 following 8.3K posts
Politics, economics, planet - I live in Essex, UK.
Posts Replies Media Videos
philfree.bsky.social
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ puts rights abusers in charge of global order
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ puts rights abusers in charge of global order
Trump’s latest assault on the UN replaces international law with power, money and impunity.
www.aljazeera.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:59 PM
philfree.bsky.social
AI’s growing thirst for water is becoming a public health risk
www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
AI’s growing thirst for water is becoming a public health risk
AI’s rapid expansion is placing growing pressure on water supplies and public health.
www.aljazeera.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:44 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“You can raise yields while destroying resilience—& the costs show up later in health, degraded land & social breakdown. This is why he raises ‘true cost accounting’: measuring what industrial systems hide.”

An innovative way to innovate
www.themintmagazine.com/an-innovativ...
www.themintmagazine.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:21 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“As Sandbrook argues, ‘the main hope lies with an emergent new Left, primarily new parties practicing movement politics & unwilling to compromise with neoliberalism’.” #PostCapitalism

The political economy of global unrest: Polanyi & Gramsci on populism
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The political economy of global unrest: a double reading of Polanyi and Gramsci on populism
This article explores the theoretical contributions of Polanyi and Gramsci to understanding potential strategies for social movements in the aftermath of street protests. Globally, underrepresented...
www.tandfonline.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:31 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Martin Luther King Jr. Warned About The Anti-Abolish-ICE Democrat
www.forever-wars.com/martin-luthe...
Martin Luther King Jr. Warned About The Anti-Abolish-ICE Democrat
The heritage that valued order over justice during the civil rights movement animates the Democrat elected and consultant who wants to "retrain" a nativist death squad
www.forever-wars.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:21 PM
philfree.bsky.social
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
philfree.bsky.social
What If the Political Pendulum Doesn’t Swing Back?
newrepublic.com/article/1975...
What If the Political Pendulum Doesn’t Swing Back?
The Cycles of American History foresaw American voter dealignment, and an electronic age that would see voters prioritize personality over party—but it didn’t anticipate Trump.
newrepublic.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:40 PM
philfree.bsky.social
What Trumpian Chaos Is Doing to the Dollar
newrepublic.com/article/2056...
What Trumpian Chaos Is Doing to the Dollar
One potential long-term casualty of continued political instability sown by the administration: America’s centrality to the international monetary system.
newrepublic.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:14 PM
philfree.bsky.social
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
philfree.bsky.social
A California Climate Policy Is Polluting Wisconsin
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
A California Climate Policy Is Polluting Wisconsin
A climate strategy backed by Gavin Newsom is funding biodigesters that can turn manure into fuel. Local communities say there are serious downsides.
newrepublic.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:35 PM
philfree.bsky.social
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
philfree.bsky.social
“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
philfree.bsky.social
The Already Tattered US Safety Net is Fraying Even More
jacobin.com/2026/01/us-s...
The Already Tattered US Safety Net Is Fraying Even More
The US spends far less on social programs than comparable nations, and red-tape barriers ensure that millions who qualify for help never receive it. Republicans are further eviscerating the safety net...
jacobin.com
February 7, 2026 at 6:57 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“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
philfree.bsky.social
Government adviser on health, disability & work warns against Equality Act crackdown on employers - @johnpring.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/government-a...
Government adviser on health, disability and work warns against Equality Act crackdown on employers
The business leader heading the government’s efforts to keep ill and disabled people in work has suggested to MPs that he does not believe stricter enforcement of the Equality Act is the way to add…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:44 PM
philfree.bsky.social
DWP disputes Access to Work claim made by its own disability minister - @johnpring.bsky.social
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-disputes...
DWP disputes Access to Work claim made by its own disability minister
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has disputed claims made by its own disability minister which explained why widespread cuts were made to disabled people’s Access to Work support packages…
www.disabilitynewsservice.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:26 PM
philfree.bsky.social
AI, Antitrust & the Future of the Marketplace of Ideas
www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...
AI, Antitrust, and the Future of the Marketplace of Ideas
AI was sold as a tool to broaden the marketplace of ideas. Instead, a handful of platforms now control how truth travels, shaping what we see, starving journalism, and locking new AI rivals out of the...
www.ineteconomics.org
February 7, 2026 at 5:08 PM
philfree.bsky.social
"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
philfree.bsky.social
“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
philfree.bsky.social
“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
philfree.bsky.social
“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
philfree.bsky.social
‘Toxic Colonialism’ on the Bay of Bengal
insideclimatenews.org/news/0202202...
‘Toxic Colonialism’ on the Bay of Bengal - Inside Climate News
Every day along the coast of Sitakunda, Bangladesh, the earth recoils without warning. The ground shudders as steel sections, hundreds of feet in length, fall away from the carcasses of former long-di...
insideclimatenews.org
February 7, 2026 at 2:01 PM
philfree.bsky.social
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
philfree.bsky.social
Debt & the cockroaches
braveneweurope.com/michael-robe...
Michael Roberts - Debt and the cockroaches - Brave New Europe
The US stock market is bullish, but there are signs that the financial system has found new ways to re-produce risky lending crisis eerily familiar to the notorious sub-prime loans in 2008. Michael Ro...
braveneweurope.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:59 PM
philfree.bsky.social
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