Phil Free
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philfree.bsky.social
Phil Free
@philfree.bsky.social
Politics, economics, planet - I live in Essex, UK.
“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
“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
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
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
“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
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
‘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
“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
“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
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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