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frankPodmore

@ frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

Posts
51
Comments
125
Joined
2 yr. ago

London-based writer. Often climbing.

  • Don’t believe Nigel Farage’s denials. He targeted me for being Jewish – and it hurt | Peter Ettedgui

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  • I think if it's true that he's a racist - and it is - it's worth saying it. In addition there are two instrumental reasons we should say it.

    First, Farage's whole schtick has been to say: 'You can oppose immigration without being a racist' and the related argument 'You shouldn't be called a racist just because you want less immigration'. Proving that he is, himself, a racist makes both arguments deeply suspect.

    It also more broadly crystallises what's evil about him for those of us who already hate him (most people!) and shows exactly why he needs to be kept out of power at all costs. If I'm in a swing seat at the next election (currently safe Labour but will there be anywhere safe by 2029?) this is the kind of thing that will make me go 'I don't have to like it - and I don't - but I'm voting for Lib Dems/Greens/whoever is best placed to beat this guy'.

  • What's an album with a completely unique sound

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  • Ha, I came here to say Bitches Brew before seeing it was in the OP!

    I'd add Loveless by My Bloody Valentine: much-imitated, but there's nothing quite like it.

    Also, my early '90s bias is showing here, but In Utero by Nirvana is uniquely brilliant. No one's melded beauty and ugliness so successfully in any medium.

  • Can we have a healthy life only with fruits or fruits and plants combined alone, and if not why?

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  • Yeah, that's it: you can get some of that stuff from some fruits, but you're looking at a lot of avocados!

    Bacteria synthesise B12 inside various animals. Even our gut flora synthesise it, but they do it too far down our digestive system to be useful!

  • Can we have a healthy life only with fruits or fruits and plants combined alone, and if not why?

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  • You can't live on fruit alone because you need vitamin B12, which you can only get from animal products or supplements. Fruit is generally also low in carbohydrates, fats and proteins, all of which you need to live!

  • United Kingdom @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    'Palestine Action activist struck officer with sledgehammer', court hears

    www.bbc.co.uk /news/articles/c79727zeqyvo

  • 'It's Time for a Debate About Who Owns Our Media' Says Leader of the UK's Trade Union Movement

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  • The TUC should start a newspaper (online, presumably, but that's not the point) again, like the Daily Herald used to be, and do podcasts etc., as well as having a joined up social media strategy. There needs to be a worker-backed alternative to the corporate news and just the odd little co-op here and there doesn't cut it (great though those are).

  • 'It's Time for a Debate About Who Owns Our Media' Says Leader of the UK's Trade Union Movement

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  • United Kingdom @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    'It's Time for a Debate About Who Owns Our Media' Says Leader of the UK's Trade Union Movement

    bylinetimes.com /2025/11/14/its-time-for-a-debate-about-who-owns-our-media-says-leader-of-the-uks-trade-union-movement/
  • United Kingdom @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Resident doctors strikes: Everything you need to know

    leftfootforward.org /2025/11/resident-doctors-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know/
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Abolish the monarchy: It’s more than Prince Andrew – the whole House of Windsor is rotten to the core

    www.newstatesman.com /politics/2025/10/abolish-the-monarchy
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    ‘Labour’s new deal for working people will restore dignity and justice to work – but the Tories and Liberal Democrats are trying to wreck it’ – LabourList

    labourlist.org /2025/10/tories-and-lib-dems-are-trying-to-wreck-the-workers-rights-bill/
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    UK unveils ‘carbon budget delivery plan’ to get back on track for net zero targets

    www.theguardian.com /environment/2025/oct/29/uk-unveils-carbon-budget-delivery-plan-to-get-back-on-track-for-net-zero-targets
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Starmer needs to get serious about governing — and quick

    www.ft.com /content/94e0bde1-61dd-4115-88eb-30ed1519251b
  • Progressive Politics @lemmy.world
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Social democracy for a zero-sum world | Paul Mason | Renewal

    renewal.org.uk /articles/social-democracy-for-a-zero-sum-world/
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Social democracy for a zero-sum world | Paul Mason | Renewal

    renewal.org.uk /articles/social-democracy-for-a-zero-sum-world/
  • Deleted

    Permanently Deleted

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  • Aside from your odd definition of capitalism and its outcomes, which other people have addressed, the answer to the headline question is: yes.

    Karl Marx, for example, believed that you could not have capitalism without exploitation and that it was therefore an unethical system that should be defeated. He also held that capitalism was inherently contradictory and that it therefore not only should be destroyed, but that it must be destroyed.

    However: Marx also believed that capitalism was an enormous improvement on the previously existing social system of feudalism, because it produced far greater wealth through the development of new technology. This is a key difference between Marxism and the earlier 'utopian socialism' (which his theories largely replaced), which saw technology itself as an evil.

    Marx also welcomed the fact that capitalism destroyed (as he saw it) some earlier forms of oppression (albeit while introducing new ones). Marx's letter to Abraham Lincoln congratulating him on his re-election discusses the American Revolution and Civil War in precisely these terms.

    So, you can enjoy the greater (obviously not 'infinite'!) abundance of goods that capitalism has produced, you can acknowledge its positive impact on technological development and its material improvements of the lives of millions of people and be not only a leftist but a fully orthodox Marxist... just so long as you also acknowledge that capitalism is also an exploitative and self-destructive force that should, can and must be defeated.

  • £6 million repaid to workers as Government cracks down on employers underpaying their staff

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  • This is very good, although I do think they should also jail some of the thieves!

  • Trans adults waiting on average 25 years for NHS gender clinic appointments

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  • It's okay, I'm not super-fussed about it happening as a one-off, more intended as a 'for the future' reminder. The rule's mainly there to make sure people don't spam about their hobby horses, and this obviously isn't that!

    Obviously there's a grey area with 'UK' vs. 'UK politics'. I'd say this is more 'UK', whereas an article about a parliamentary or governmental response to the same would be 'UK politics', if that makes sense.

    Please do keep posting stuff!

  • Trans adults waiting on average 25 years for NHS gender clinic appointments

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  • What's an uplifting fact that might counter the doom of our current reality?

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  • True, but it was more restricted in its potential application (because you had to be near a reliable water source). Modern electricity generation, including renewables, doesn't have that limitation - as the application of coal to steam power demonstrates!

  • What's an uplifting fact that might counter the doom of our current reality?

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  • But the economics are clear: if renewables stay cheaper than fossil fuels (and there's no reason to think they won't), governments will make the switch anyway.

  • What's an uplifting fact that might counter the doom of our current reality?

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  • We're actually doing pretty well, globally, at shifting to renewables. We're making more, more quickly and more cheaply than ever before.

  • Two dead after suspected terror attack on Manchester synagogue, police say, with suspect shot by officers – latest

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  • This is a developing story and one thing we don't know yet is anything at all about the attacker. Any posts speculating about this or spreading rumours will be removed, as will anything excusing, downplaying or minimising the attack.

  • Kemi Badenoch pledges to scrap UK climate law

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  • While I wish Labour were further from the Conservatives and Reform on immigration and trans rights, this is one serious difference between the parties that really matters.

  • United Kingdom @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Two dead after suspected terror attack on Manchester synagogue, police say, with suspect shot by officers – latest

    www.theguardian.com /uk-news/live/2025/oct/02/police-reports-stabbing-synagogue-greater-manchester-live
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Lucy Powell calls for MPs to vote on single sex space guidance

    news.sky.com /story/lucy-powell-calls-for-mps-to-vote-on-single-sex-space-guidance-13441182
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Ed Miliband to announce total ban on fracking – UK politics live

    www.theguardian.com /politics/live/2025/oct/01/keir-starmer-labour-conference-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-latest-news-updates
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    British Politics' Midlife Crisis: Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters

    benansell.substack.com /p/british-politics-midlife-crisis
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Keir Starmer Labour conference speech: follow live

    www.bbc.co.uk /news/live/cd073r829jxt
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s address to Labour Party conference in full – LabourList

    labourlist.org /2025/09/labour-conference-yvette-cooper-speech-in-full/
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Plan to build 12 new towns in England to be unveiled at Labour conference

    www.theguardian.com /politics/2025/sep/27/plan-to-build-12-new-towns-in-england-to-be-unveiled-at-labour-conference
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Keir Starmer attacks ‘racist’ Farage plan to deport people settled in the UK

    www.theguardian.com /uk-news/2025/sep/28/keir-starmer-says-farage-plan-racist-deport-people-settled-in-the-uk
  • UK Politics @feddit.uk
    frankPodmore @slrpnk.net

    Our research makes it clear: by capitulating to the right, Labour is driving voters to Reform UK

    www.theguardian.com /commentisfree/2025/sep/26/labour-reform-uk-nigel-farage-immigration-voters

  • I finally started Strange New Worlds, and it's great but it has one major problem.

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  • Too busy listening to the sound of M'Benga's voice to hear the words he's saying.

  • Why are most religious people so easy to manipulate? (serious)

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  • I often wonder about this with regard to right wing Americans believing such ridiculous things. It's seem that what Trump supporters ultimately have in common is not one set of beliefs but a shared belief in things that make no sense: that all Democrats are paedophiles, that JFK wasn't really assassinated, that vaccines don't work, that climate change isn't real, that Donald Trump is anything but a foolish, evil corrupt man. What do these views have in common? They're fundamentally foolish things to believe.

    The fact is that once you believe one patently absurd thing - for example, that an interventionist god exists - your thinking gets warped. When you then make this absurdity the centre of your worldview and your identity, your views on everything become warped. After a certain point, they seem to start believing things because they make no sense.

    If a person believes God actually answers prayers, something there is no reason whatsoever to believe, they're primed to believe all kinds of other nonsense. This is exactly why many religious people have stopped believing in that kind of thing, and now take refuge in the idea of prayer as comfort or as asking for 'strength' rather than asking for anything specific (note that even this compromise requires them to ignore the plain meaning of the words of, e.g., the Lord's Prayer). Most people find it uncomfortable to believe in nonsense. For others, it becomes the point.

  • Someday.....

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  • I love Voyager, but of all Treks it's the hardest to make a move of. Their whole thing was to get home and... they did! You can't have 'We need to reunite the old gang to get home from the Delta Quadrant one last time'.

  • Locked

    What is a good example of a necessary evil?

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  • Right, but we mitigate that harm (good) by depriving people of their freedom (bad). It is necessary to do it, for the exact reasons you suggest - to reduce evil overall.

  • Locked

    What is a good example of a necessary evil?

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  • I've been meaning to read some stuff about how to approach criminal justice if we don't have free will, but I keep reading other stuff instead. So many books, so little time!

    I still think prisoners should be treated well, no matter the crime.

    Yes, absolutely. Even for the worst of the worst, their should be rehab attempts, whether it's anger management, getting them away from gangs - whatever it is they need. I think there are only small numbers of people, if there are any at all, who are really irremediably violent and dangerous, but even for them I'm not exactly happy about putting them away indefinitely.