Phil Barker

Humanist, foodie. Works in IT. Sometime student of Philosophy of Religion. From Monmouthshire, Wales, UK. Testiculi ad Brexitum.

Magazines

Flips

Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
United Kingdom
Top British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall quits with searing Brexit critique
CNN - Exclusive by Eliza Mackintosh, CNN
(CNN) — A senior British diplomat in the US has quit with a blast at the UK government over Brexit, saying she could no longer "peddle half-truths" on behalf of political leaders she did not "trust." a
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
European Union
PM’s deal gives EU back door to GB without quid pro quo - InFacts
infacts.org
A leaked Treasury analysis shows how Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement could undermine our own internal market – as the EU could route goods to …
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
A 2-Year Study of More Than 5,000 People Shows This 1 Activity Destroys Your Emotional and Physical Health
getpocket.com
September 3
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Opinion
Boris Johnson is about to destroy our democracy – just because he wants to get back at me
independent.co.uk - Gina Miller
One of the many ironies of this general election is that Boris Johnson is actually seeking a democratic mandate to devalue our democracy. I wish this …
November 26
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Academia
‘Idea Laundering’ in Academia
The Wall Street Journal. - Peter Boghossian
How nonsensical jargon like ‘intersectionality’ and ‘cisgender’ is imbued with an air of false authority. You’ve almost certainly heard some of the following terms: cisgender, fat shaming, heteronormativity,
November 24
Phil Barker
flipped into Charcutisanerie
British Cuisine
Morrisons will not stock new meat-free pork pies in Melton - to avoid offending locals
leicestermercury.co.uk - Adrian Troughton
The historic home of the pork pie is set to be the only place in the country where a new vegan version will not be sold. Morrisons will not stock its …
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson Constantly Gets Away with Lying – This Is Why
VICE - Paul Mason
As Andrew Marr's interview with the Tory leader showed, the old way of doing journalism can't cope with politicians whose electoral strategy is falsehood. I once had to stay in a trucker motel in Moldova.
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Disability
Tory candidate defends low pay for people with learning disabilities
The Guardian - Mattha Busby
A Conservative parliamentary candidate has defended a controversial fringe view that people with learning disabilities should be paid less than the minimum wage because “they don’t understand money”. Hart
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
Business
EU distances itself from Johnson’s timetable for post-Brexit trade deal
The Guardian - Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
EU member states have signalled a refusal to be bounced into Boris Johnson’s fast-track timetable to strike a post-Brexit trade deal. If he wins a majority, the prime minister has vowed to take the UK
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Long-form Journalism
The making of a bedsit Nazi: who was the man who killed Jo Cox?
The Guardian - Kester Aspden
‘I WROTE YOU A THREE-PAGE LETTER CONTAINING SOME OF MY THOUGHTS,” the man who murdered Jo Cox told me, replying to a letter I had sent to him in prison. His note was short, just half a side of A4 paper,
1 day ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
It took 7 years for Canada to agree a trade deal with the EU, yet these jokers claim they can deliver a more ambitious deal withe UK in one year.
Brexit
Sajid Javid refuses to rule out possibility of no-deal Brexit
The Guardian - Mattha Busby
2 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Quite Interesting Language
Language Learning
Where are the world’s best English-speakers?
The Economist
ENGLISH IS THE most widely spoken language in the world. And of the roughly 1.5bn speakers globally, the vast majority speak it as a second language. …
3 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Brexit
The UK election from hell
politico.eu - Paul Taylor
Whether you’re pro- or anti-Brexit, there’s no obvious least worst way to vote. LONDON — There are no good options on offer in the U.K.'s most ghastly …
3 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
Close
opendemocracy.net
Evidence that could lead to criminal charges against the pro-Brexit campaign led by Boris Johnson and his key adviser, Dominic Cummings, has now been …
November 1
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Opinion
In its election coverage, the BBC has let down the people who believe in it
The Guardian - Peter Oborne
Boris Johnson continues to get away with it. The onslaught of lies has become a tsunami in the few weeks since I launched a website to keep track of Johnson’s falsehoods, with dozens more waiting to be
4 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
United Kingdom
If we want to keep Britain inside the EU, we must vote tactically to make it happen
independent.co.uk - Naomi Smith
An alien arriving from Mars during the UK general election would be forgiven for thinking that Boris Johnson had been a good prime minister in the …
5 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Political Science
Mainstream conservative parties paved the way for far-right nationalism
The Washington Post - Bart Bonikowski
What seems to be driving these parties’ support is the increased salience of nationalist beliefs among voters who identify their nation with the ethnic or racial identity of the majority group. Many people
5 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
United Kingdom
Britain's electoral law not fit for purpose, says regulator
Reuters India - By Alistair Smout
LONDON (Reuters) - Laws governing the upcoming British election are not fit for purpose and steps by Facebook and Google to increase transparency around digital adverts are not a substitute for reform,
5 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Quite Interesting Language
Society
'Laziness has won': apostrophe society admits its defeat
The Guardian - PA Media
A society dedicated to preserving the “much-abused” apostrophe is to be shut down as its chairman said “ignorance and laziness” had won. John Richards, who worked in journalism for much of his career,
6 days ago
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Long-form Journalism
Why we need religion
prospectmagazine.co.uk - Stephen Asma, an agnostic, argues powerfully that religion is natural and beneficial. Is it such a leap to believe that it is grounded in truth?
Asma’s focus is primarily on Christianity and Buddhism, but much of what he says applies more widely. Photo: Jacob King/PA Wire/PA Images It is a …
November 29
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Who Is an Atheist?
richardcarrier.info - by Richard Carrier
Is everyone who lacks belief in a god an atheist? Or is there always some middle category—we’ll call it “agnostic”—such that (a) they don’t believe …
November 29
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Opinion
How Prince Andrew forced me to recognise the hollowness of The Crown
The Guardian - Emma Brockes
Before the advent of The Crown – the Netflix show, not the institution – Princess Margaret was widely regarded as a snobbish, spiteful creature. That image has been refurbished: to fans of the show, she
November 29
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Mobile Technology
Study: Our universe may be part of a giant quantum computer
TNW - Tristan Greene
A pair of physicists from Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU) in Russia recently proposed an entirely new view of the cosmos. Their research takes the wacky idea that we’re living in a computer
November 27
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Surfing
UK 'has particularly extreme form of capitalism'
bbc.co.uk - Simon Jack
The UK has one of the most extreme forms of capitalism in the world and we urgently need to rethink the role of business in society. That's according to Prof Colin Mayer, author of a new report on the
November 27
Phil Barker
flipped into Quite Interesting Language
Culture (UK)
British people still think some accents are smarter than others – what that means in the workplace
The Conversation UK - Devyani Sharma
Do you judge people’s abilities based on their accent? Do you think a person with a posh accent must be more intelligent or better informed than …
November 25
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
News (Wales)
General election 2019: Plaid Cymru leader would take Wales back into EU
bbc.co.uk - BBC News
Plaid Cymru would seek to take Wales back into the European Union as an independent nation if Brexit happened, its leader Adam Price has said.
November 25
Phil Barker
flipped into Stronger In
Brexit
Police officer 'orders driver to remove B******* to Brexit car sign'
sky.com - Sky
A passenger in the vehicle claims the officer said displaying the anti-Brexit slogan on the car was a public order offence. Essex Police is …
November 25
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Opinion
The Tory manifesto is a sign of things to come – an elected dictator who will scrap our democracy
independent.co.uk - Sean O'Grady
On page 48 of the Conservative manifesto for the general election, “Get Brexit Done Unleashing Britain’s Potential”, there are the following …
November 25
Phil Barker
flipped into Food for Thought
Europe
Medieval Catholicism nudged Europe towards democracy and development
The Economist
God and MammonMedieval Catholicism nudged Europe towards democracy and development Its restriction on marriage within families expanded people’s sense …
November 23

Likes