Mark Burton

markhburton@mstdn.social

Scholar-activist. Marxist <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/degrowth" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#degrowth</a> advocate. Various topics on the pancrisis. Anti-imperialist. I also grow unusual edibles, do a bit of crafting in wood. Manchester. Lapsed psychologist & manager. Native English speaker, read, write & speak Spanish, read Portuguese and, with effort, French. Charitable donations made to organisations, not individuals. Pics: lightening, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 2012; Made in USA? No Thanks! No AI searchable <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ecosocialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ecosocialism</a> <a href="https://uncommontater.net" target="_blank" rel="nofollow n

Posts

Post #4376634
"As for the more recent reconstruction of London, I find almost all of it architecturally dire and socially repellent, particularly the clustering skyscrapers that proclaim the triumph of finance capital and the interests of its corporate elite while signalling disdain for people at large, closing down on publicly available space, and darkening our streets." Full article: Realism, humanism and alternative hedonism: an interview with Kate Soper, Part 1 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/fu...
Post #4200379
You wouldn't know it from BBC coverage but the Green Party were (also) not invited to Burnham's cross-party talks on social care. As Ellie Chowns says in a letter to him. "Failing to extend an invitation to your first cross-party meeting on the topic is, frankly, not consistent with your stated commitment to working cooperatively across party lines."
Post #4193037
Trump administration has received $13Bn from Venezuela's oil this year already. What they are doing with it is obscure. Oil receipts up 25% but country is in recession. Rubio gives instructions directly to the Venezuelan interim president who maintains a show of independence. It's a de facto colony (article says 'protectorate'. Trump ha convertido Venezuela en un protectorado 'de facto' y la comunidad internacional prefiere mirar hacia otro lado https://www.eldiario.es/i...
Post #4159413
"Proposed mechanisms for delivering action like citizens’ assemblies are a response to the sluggishness of existing institutions, but do not address its cause — the power of the capitalist class. "Agreeing what we ought to do doesn’t guarantee that it will happen: the climate movement needs to ... recognise that this is fundamentally a class struggle and a battle against capitalism itself. #ClimateChange is an emergency – and the implications are radical https://morningstaronline.co.u...
Post #4064796
So the country with a gigantic prison-industrial forced-labour workforce will now charge other countries an import tariff due to their supposed forced labour practices? Trump accused of using forced labor as ‘convenient’ justification for tariffs | Trump tariffs | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/24/trump-forced-labor-tariffs
Post #4061100
It had to happen Thieves stealing copper from a data centre. #CriticalMinerals Los ladrones de cobre amplían sus objetivos: ahora, también, los centros de datos https://www.larazon.es/madrid/ladrones-cobre-amplian-sus-objetivos-ahora-tambien-centros-datos_202607176a59f3dfe9f2e84b5c6dad06.html
Post #3909347
If true, this will be a fail at the first hurdle. Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c935yx2z9d4o #ClimateCollapse #Burnham #NorthSeaOil
Post #3767779
Looks like NESO are trying to prevent the kind of issue (high solar input causing overvoltage) that led to Spain's grid collapse. In Spain this was in the critical context of nuclear centrales being off-line. In Britain the availability of French interconnector supply is impacted by their nuclear shutting down as cooling water too hot. Britain’s biggest community solar farm forced to shut over grid overload fears | Solar power | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul...
Post #3758516
Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't the UK spent the last 30 or so years undermining this model by introducing wasteful, profit seeking, competition? "Lyon [Policy Exchange] blames this on the UK healthcare model in which the state both funds and provides treatment; this lack of competition means there is little motivation for contract holders to become more efficient, save costs or respond quickly to patient concerns" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r2nz82z3vo #NHS
Post #3725754
Immersing myself for the last 10 days in the ecological economics of waste. I can only conclude that the enormous, enormous, enormous problem can't be solved while matetial growth and capitalism persist. That's difficult as I'm writing a book about practical policies!
Post #3324984
"But there is another truth from last week that goes largely unreported in the British press. In Belfast, Republican communities held the line. There were a handful of attempts at organising anti-immigrant protests that emerged and dissipated very quickly. In Republican areas there were no attacks on foreign workers. No scapegoating. No pogroms." Belfast burns again | Morning Star https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/belfast-burns-again
Post #3233613
‘No major UK newspapers have published editorials about the heat and there has been no space dedicated to it in the comment sections of the largest French and Spanish newspapers.' Invitation To A Turkey Shoot – How To Debunk Climate Denial https://medialens.substack.com/p/invitation-to-a-turkey-shoot-how
Post #1951639
That attack in Golders Green was by a mentally disturbed man who that same day attacked a non Jewish man. But it is being used as evidence of a wave of attacks on the Jewish community. While the Israeli State&#39;s genocide is leading some to turn, without justification, on unconnected Jewish people, it is essential that clarity of evidence is prioritised. Otherwise politicians will do the usual knee jerk of hurried decisions such as bans on legitimate solidarity actions.
Post #1871443
Oh surprise, surprise, Nigel the Stockbroker is on the radio again, spewing hate in his clever way. The agenda is clear, war on migrants, on disabled people, on workers. Pitifully weak scrutiny by Robinson.
Post #1871442
Stop megasheds being built &amp; operated 24/7 close to homes and communities We want the government to include in its revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that the building of B8 warehouses and the 24/7 operation of such megasheds will not be permitted within 500 metres of residential properties. Petitions https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/764882 #planning #UKPol #NPPF #MegaSheds
Post #1871441
&quot;By now you would think that even the dimmest bourgeois politician — even those who think the British empire can be reconstituted for the 21st century — might wonder if their “special relationship” with the US might be reclassified as abusive. But not Starmer, or that buffoon David Lammy, once a foreign secretary so marginal to affairs that he was not consulted over who might be our country’s ambassador to what is nominally our principal ally.&quot; Imperialist delusions https://m...
Post #1871440
The appalling attacks on Jewish people in London and before in Manchester will only serve to strengthen the calls for restrictions and crack downs on Palestinian solidarity. The Israel lobby are at it again, with their rhetoric of &quot;hate marches&quot;, meaning mass solidarity and outrage against the ongoing genocidal wars.
Post #1871439
Zack Polanski calls for ‘nuance’ when discussing antisemitism in rebuke of PM | Green party | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/apr/24/zak-polanski-calls-for-nuance-when-discussing-antisemitism-in-rebuke-of-pm
Post #1604436
But the racial aggravation in the attack should be laid at the door of the peddlers of hatred. Garage, Yaxley Lennon and their ilk. Man admits rape and religiously aggravated abuse of Sikh woman - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxd05gd12eo
Post #1604434
World on the brink of a perilous new era, Amnesty warns | Morning Star https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/world-brink-perilous-new-era-amnesty-warns
Post #1604433
“The impunity Israel enjoyed in Gaza as it committed water war crimes is again on full display,” How Israel is destroying Lebanon’s water infrastructure | Israel attacks Lebanon News | Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/22/how-israel-is-destroying-lebanons-water-infrastructure?traffic_source=rss
Post #1604431
“When he sought to realise his ambition to become leader of the Labour Party, with very little base within the party, he became dependent on McSweeney, Mandelson and Labour Together to organise and fund his election. “When he became Prime Minister, the reward for McSweeney was control of No 10, and the reward for Mandelson was the highest diplomatic office. The unspoken message to civil servants was, ‘What Mandelson wants, Mandelson gets.’ https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/clear-ou...
Post #1604430
Farage compared to the butcher of Gujarat. ‘This is not the country I moved to’: the British Indians showing support for Nigel Farage | Reform UK | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/23/british-indians-nigel-farage-reform-uk-harrow-local-elections
Post #1604426
Bloggers and website managers: Beware fake wordpress.com subscription renewal notices. Always check the sender address and don&#39;t follow links - you can check subscription status in your dashboard if unsure. #scams #phishing
Post #1408383
For the next 48 hours, every donation you make to UNWRA to support Palestine Refugees will be doubled, up to US$ 21,000! https://donate.unrwa.org/int/en/match #Palestine #UNWRA
Post #1140834
£1.6bn expropriated from the NHS alone by capital. That&#39;s money that could fund public provision. It&#39;s what capitalism does. It has no place in public services. Private firms providing services to NHS made £1.6bn profit in two years, research finds | NHS | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/13/private-companies-nhs-services-profit-chpi-research #NHS #privatisation #PublicServices
Post #1037724
Not content with its blitzkrieg in Gaza and Lebanon, its unprovoked attack on Iran, its ongoing territorial theft and erasure of Palestinian culture, the Israeli State is now legislating to kill prisoners without due process, including children. No longer can it pretend Nazism was exceptional. Israel repeats much of its crimes and could well add more. Israel’s Death Penalty Law and the Collapse of International Protection for Children – Bella Caledonia https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/03/31/i...
Post #995855
Zia Yusuf is what they used to call an Uncle Tom. Reform UK would stop visas for people from countries seeking slavery reparations | Reform UK | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/07/reform-uk-stop-visas-countries-seeking-reparations-slavery
Post #995854
Iran says US-Israeli projectile has struck a synagogue in Tehran | US-Israel war on Iran | Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/4/7/iran-says-us-israeli-projectile-has-struck-a-synagogue-in-tehran?traffic_source=rss
Post #995853
Heinberg: &quot;The current sharp spike in diesel fuel prices is likely to be a significant drag on the construction and installation of renewables—as well as to increase the cost of food and most other things. People tend to forget that, despite all the solar panels and wind turbines, the heavy work of the global economy is still mostly being done by diesel fuel.&quot; 20 Years after «The Oil Depletion Protocol». https://www.15-15-15.org/webzine/2026/04/04/20-years-after-the-oil-deplet...