Remote

Mark Burton

@markhburton@mstdn.social

mastodon 4.7.2

Scholar-activist.
Marxist #degrowth 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
#ecosocialism
https://uncommontater.net
indexable=true

1195 Followers

517 Following

50 Posts

Joined November 04, 2022

Degrowth UK:

https://degrowthuk.org

Steady State Manchester:

https://steadystatemanchester.net

Orcid:

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8327-5533

Getting Real:

https://gettingreal.org.uk

Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 1w ago

Boosted by @Dragofix@veganism.social

Adrian Ramsay: “It’s good that the foreign secretary is presenting the findings of this crucial report to ministers from other governments. “But it begs the question, why are MPs in this country still being denied access to the full report? "... why has our government still not published its response to how it will address the stark findings?” UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer | Climate crisis | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/23/uk-climate-crisis-national-security-report-suppressed-starmer-ed-miliband

theguardian.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 1w ago

"Government needs to get serious about changing the way we travel – not simply making the vehicles we use cleaner. Electric cars have an important role, but electrification alone cannot solve the transport problem. We need better public transport, more walking and cycling, and genuine alternatives to the car for everyday journeys." From London to Portugal by train: what I learnt about transport and climate - Campaign for Better Transport https://bettertransport.org.uk/blog/from-london-to-portugal-by-train-what-i-learnt-about-transport-and-climate/

From London to Portugal by train: what I learnt about transport and climate

Campaign for Better Transport

From London to Portugal by train: what I learnt about transport and climate

When asked to present our archive to sustainability experts in Coimbra, Portugal, Michael decided to get there by train, learning and sharing lessons about transport and climate along the way.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2w ago

More on Die Linke's Berlin victory. "GERMANY’S Left party (DL) has scored a stunning victory in Berlin, winning a state election for the first time on a campaign to nationalise housing owned by corporate landlords and cap rents." Die Linke score stunning election victory in Berlin | Morning Star https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/die-linke-score-stunning-election-victory-berlin

Die Linke score stunning election victory in Berlin

Die Linke score stunning election victory in Berlin

GERMANY’S Left party (DL) has scored a stunning victory in Berlin, winning a state election for the first time on a campaign to nationalise housing owned by corporate landlords and cap rents.The party won around 26 per cent of the vote on Sunday, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) trailing in second place, just ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) which took 16 per cent.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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."

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

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'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.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 1mo ago

So sad. There are Nazis in Israel, Germany and England's south coast. All surging, all hateful, all enabled by the mass media and pusillanimous politicians. Eight-year-old Gaza girl killed by Israel on first day of school | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/9/7/eight-year-old-gaza-girl-killed-by-israel-on-first-day-of-school?traffic_source=rss

Eight-year-old Gaza girl killed by Israel on first day of school

Eight-year-old Gaza girl killed by Israel on first day of school

An eight-year-old girl and her father were killed when an Israeli strike hit their vehicle on her first day of school.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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

Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling

Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling

Drilling has become a controversial topic for the Labour party after the 2024 manifesto pledged to not issue new licences.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

"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

morningstaronline.co.uk

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 1mo ago

Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds | Datacentres - UK | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/25/planned-datacentres-carbon-emissions-uk-exxonmobil?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

theguardian.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@piglet@mastodon.scot @MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk Suggested Donald, Nigel, Kemi, CEO and Stocks.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

"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.uk/article/climate-change-emergency-and-implications-are-radical #ClimateChaos

morningstaronline.co.uk

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 1mo ago

Replying to

@BathNature@ecoevo.social 'Ours' is already getting its red breast. Photo, Manchester, 2 days ago.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@JeniParsons@mstdn.social A better version would be based on Marco Zapata's last supper in Cusco cathedral, Peru. Judas looks back at the viewer, his hand on a moneybag. Judas has a likeness to the Spanish conquistador and murderer Pizarro. You could substitute Trump. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zapata-%C3%BAltima_cena.jpg Commonly supposed to be eating a cuy or guinea pig but it's too big so another Andean animal.

commons.wikimedia.org

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@Deglassco@mastodon.social A parallel. Approx 1975, record number of Trade Union members in the UK. Then 1979,Thatcher, and the rest is history, written by victors.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

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!

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

"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/full/10.1080/14767430.2026.2678095

tandfonline.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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/internacional/cronicas-desde-trumplandia/trump-convertido-venezuela-protectorado-facto-comunidad-internacional-prefiere-mirar-lado_132_13410917.html #Venezuela

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Boosted by @Dragofix@veganism.social

‘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

medialens.substack.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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

theguardian.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

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 "hate marches", meaning mass solidarity and outrage against the ongoing genocidal wars.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green I'd adjust the causalities:

Early capitalism was facilitated by colonisation and land ownership changes (enclosure) and hence land use changes.
Later capitalism overproduces, relying on overconsumption (by some) to maintain profitability.
Overproduction means more land use change due to agro-industry, mining and overstepping eco-geo-system boundaries.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@junesim63@mstdn.social Correction: substitute Antizionism for Antisemitism

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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/12/solar-farm-forced-to-shut-derril-water-biggest-grid-overload-fears

theguardian.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@gert@social.coop @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green There are several historical precedents for that.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@GeofCox@climatejustice.social From my reading (e.g. Anwar Shaikh) @dazinism@social.coop has it more or less correct. MMT makes some helpful points (e.g. that taxation is not equal to gov expenditure) but does a sleight of hand, confounding the issue of currency with the creation of money (pointed out by Jo Michel), and then creates an edifice on that. In the popularised versions it often confounds value with money (but not in the core texts or your summary Geof).

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@casdeiro @EUCommission And of course the extraction of those minerals is only partial.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

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

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@dbattistella@mstdn.ca So bookmark climate.us!

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@bodluricon@mastodon.social @Nickiquote@mstdn.social North Manchester: muffins. South Manchester: barm cakes Probably the Mercia/Northumbria border. Boundary a bit blurred these days.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@StingrayBadger@zirk.us And for the avoidance of doubt, I do not question that antisemitism is rife. It was always just below the surface. I have family members whose grandparents fled pogroms. Bu 'never again' means never again for anyone.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us @Simon318ppm@mastodon.sdf.org Oh it will stick. Just like false claims about Corbyn stuck. The capitalist class and their lackeys detect a mild threat, and it's all hands to the mud catapult.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@GeofCox@climatejustice.social Yes. Though not 'alarmist' but 'realist'.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@GeofCox@climatejustice.social And they must level with people about ecological overshoot, planetary boundaries, other tipping points, peak energy, the waste mountain, nature loss - not all at once. It means a coherent economic policy that shows there is an alternative to the magical mantra of 'growth'. Some of that work is going on quietly.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@dgar@aus.social I'm not convinced that nerds are my clan, but the non nerds think I'm one.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@DrEdBridges@toot.wales "But let's attack Polanski instead"

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@Gargron@mastodon.social None. Buy nothing. #degrowth

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@casdeiro@15-15-15.social @ElSaltoDiario@mastodon.social Y increíblemente, Zack Polanski, lider de los Verdes en Inglaterra y Gales.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@bodluricon@mastodon.social @Nickiquote@mstdn.social The map at the first link more or less confirms my muffin Vs barm cake observations. Both words, incidentally, sound like insulting terms for a silly person. That muffin Trump is a real barm cake!

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@annaf@climatejustice.social And the TV clip of the arrest did look like excessive force, i.e. kicking, so Polanski's comment, although hasty, might be accurate.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@annaf@climatejustice.social Yes exactly.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

"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."

Imperialist delusions

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/imperialist-delusions-drive-britain-towards-economic-precipice

morningstaronline.co.uk

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@PallasRiot@social.treehouse.systems That's rather naïve. The pornography industry as it now is, promotes the objectification of women and violence against them. It isn't specifically an issue of youth exposure, although since it can mean learning misogyny at an formative age it is perhaps more damaging than for adults.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@munchkinbear@mastodon.stickbear.me "When we landed in Portland, people stood up immediately because apparently airplane seats become lava after touchdown." That used to irritate me immensely. I stopped flying 12 years ago. And they are still doing it.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

Stop megasheds being built & 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

petition.parliament.uk

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@GeofCox@climatejustice.social @dazinism@social.coop But I certainly don't buy the ' take money creation away from banks' line. Even Positive Money seem to have now dropped that.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 5mo ago

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

theguardian.com

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@atfarnum@dragonscave.space I did this for old and ancient family photos: used a digital camera. Just used light from a window, not too sunny. Good enough to print in a book.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@guenther@chaos.social @SecureOwl@infosec.exchange My first soldering iron as an electronics mad lad was made for me by a toolmaker. He worked at a leading research centre. They hadn't even thought of firmware then.

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Mark Burton @markhburton@mstdn.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@drewph@ieji.de @davidho@mastodon.world Or the USA.

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