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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
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
philfree.bsky.social
Over 2,000 Britons served for Israel amid Gaza genocide
www.declassifieduk.org/over-2000-br...
Over 2,000 Britons served for Israel amid Gaza genocide
Exclusive: Declassified obtained data on the number of UK nationals in the IDF. We are publishing it for the first time
www.declassifieduk.org
February 13, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Phil Free
nancykric.bsky.social
"Let me say this clearly: what has happened in Gaza, what continues to happen, is a genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel."
~ Arundhati Roy

variety.com/2026/film/gl...
Indian Author Arundhati Roy Pulls Out of Berlinale Over Jury’s ‘Unconscionable’ Refusal to Comment on Gaza: ‘To Hear Them Say That Art Should Not Be Political Is Jaw-Dropping’
Arundhati Roy has withdrawn from the Berlinale over the jury's pushback over politics and its 'unconscionable' refusal to comment on Gaza.
variety.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:04 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Life beyond the stats: The refugees reclaiming their stories
www.opendemocracy.net/en/memory-sc...
Life beyond the stats: The refugees reclaiming their stories
Our lives are often reduced to numbers, our stories told without our consent. I wanted to change that
www.opendemocracy.net
February 13, 2026 at 6:12 PM
philfree.bsky.social
Good Riddance to the Special Relationship
tribunemag.co.uk/2026/01/good...
Good Riddance to the Special Relationship
The US threats against Britain over Greenland have exposed the lie of a ‘special relationship’. This collapsing fantasy is an opportunity for Britain to build a genuinely independent foreign policy.
tribunemag.co.uk
February 13, 2026 at 5:57 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“Reducing innovation to competitiveness & growth imperatives neglects the political, social & ecological dimensions essential to shaping AI in the public interest.”

A Socio-Ecological Vision for AI - @greeneujournal.bsky.social
www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-socio-ecol...
A Socio-Ecological Vision for AI
We need a new narrative that foregrounds artificial intelligence as a public tool without pre-determined development and impact.
www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu
February 13, 2026 at 5:36 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“The similarities between Marx & Keynes’ macro is merely one example of the ways Capital still speaks to the contemporary economic dynamics. It’s part of a list of many examples. But unsurprisingly, Noah Smith wouldn’t know that.”
open.substack.com/pub/criticof...
Marx's ideas left a huge mark on macroeconomics. Noah Smith wouldn't know that.
A reply to Noah Smith
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:02 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“Life has taught me some hard lessons & the hardest of these is that not every story has a happy ending. Sometimes it’s just an ending.

So I don’t know, maybe it’s important to hang on to the improbable because at least it’s not this.”

- @scarletred.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/dialecti...
Losing What You Never Had
Is this all there is?
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:26 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“In that world, where GDP doubles in 35yrs, show me how we will be better off.

The math doesn’t exist.

If we double our resources in the next 35yrs, our already overstretched climate, land & water systems will collapse…” #degrowth

- @mattorsagh.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/degrowth...
Nothing Grows Forever
So why do we expect our economy to?
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:56 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“I’ve always thought the obsession with… ‘disinformation’ is a stupid moral panic masquerading as some defender of the public rather than what it is: an agent of censorship & control.”

New McCarthyite Campaign Against Mamdani & DSA - @kenklippenstein.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...
New McCarthyite Campaign Against Mamdani and DSA
They’re being labeled a “threat vector” and agent of foreign adversaries
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:21 PM
philfree.bsky.social
World roundup: February 12 2026
open.substack.com/pub/fx/p/wor...
World roundup: February 12 2026
Stories from Israel-Palestine, Bangladesh, Cuba, and elsewhere
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“The assessment notes that ecosystem degradation is occurring across all global regions, adding that every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to irreversible loss of function beyond repair.”

Biodiversity loss ‘threat to security’
theecologist.org/2026/jan/29/...
Biodiversity loss 'threat to security'
The British government’s own security experts join the dots between nature loss, security and the wellbeing of society.
theecologist.org
February 13, 2026 at 1:34 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“Forced removal, denial of legal & political recognition, & the systematic erasure of historical memory erodes collective identity & fractures intergenerational continuity.

The role of environmental destruction further exemplifies this eliminatory strategy.”
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Settler colonialism and the rhetoric of voluntary migration in Gaza
This article examines the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as a core mechanism within Israel’s settler-colonial strategy. Drawing on historical analysis, international legal instruments ...
www.tandfonline.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:04 PM
philfree.bsky.social
“Human ingenuity has bequeathed us splendid technologies. But like a cruel divinity, capital not only prevents us from using them from using them for our collective good, but in fact coerces us to deploy them towards our collective doom.” #PostCapitalism #Degrowth
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
We can move beyond the capitalist model and save the climate – here are the first three steps | Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis
Capitalism cares about our species’ prospects as much as a wolf cares about a lamb’s. But democratise our economy and a better world is within our grasp, say Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:31 AM
philfree.bsky.social
Cliodynamics & Cybernetics II
open.substack.com/pub/petertur...
Cliodynamics and Cybernetics II
A Really Dystopian Scenario
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:03 AM
philfree.bsky.social
Republicans want to protect free speech for themselves & no one else
madness.ghost.io/republicans-...
Republicans want to protect free speech for themselves and no one else
The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress continue to attack free speech in numerous ways.
madness.ghost.io
February 12, 2026 at 11:30 PM