John Merrick

don't confuse the children, Daryl!

Machines Infernal: The History of the AK-47, Part 1 | Blood Work Get more from Blood Work on Patreon

BLOOD WORK / EPISODE 21

MACHINES INFERNAL: THE HISTORY OF THE AK-47, PART ONE

We begin our history of the most famous firearm of all time with a prologue—because in order to understand how we got here, you gotta understand where we came from.

Can't believe we're being lectured to about Englishness by doughy-faced simpletons with broccoli hair

No actually I think its a great sign for British media that The Spectator commissioned a masturbatory piece from a convicted fraudster on how awesome Reform's deportation plans are

Restore Britain will, without apology or fear, deport the third world orcs who break into our country, rape young women and then expect the British to tolerate their presence. There is finally a political party that will defend our home, our people, our shires. Restore Britain.

The UK parliament now has an MP who is openly racist and far right. This is, for the current era, new ground, and it will be interesting to see how - if at all – other MPs respond.

Electro-Capitalism Ours is the age of transition: from fossil capital to electricity capital. The future that emerges will be determined by the fierce struggles of the present.

There will be no clean break: oil and gas will not be easy to shake off. We are, however, beginning to see a challenge to the dominance of fossil capital, and a path toward a world dominated by electricity.

Thanks, Dion!

Stop, Look, and Listen #53 A round-up of what I have been reading and listening to this past month, on the Global War on Terror; Trump and the international order; the remaking of the right; and football governance.

My new monthly round-up of reading and listening recommendations, taking in the Global War on Terror; Trump and the international order; the remaking of the right; and football governance.

A 🧵 on what's included...
#polsky #skystorians🗃️ #lawsky

Revealed: Reform UK Matt Goodwin's Academic Ties to Rebranded Nazi Eugenics Front Reform's Gorton and Denton candidate, who has said that genetics will expose the "inherent differences between groups" has links to multiple organisations tied to discredited racist pseudoscience

Good to see journalists covering the links between University of Buckingham’s Centre for Heterodox Science and race science networks. It ought to be pretty shocking to see a university openly affiliate with pseudoscience peddlers such as Aporia

British Geological Survey map showing parts of the UK with potential for fracking exploration. Reform has pledged to open up the country for fracking if elected. They say fracking will lower people's bills. This is disputed by London School of Economics:

www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...
🧵 1

I wonder if this signals the limits of policy for voter preference? Reform UK is a "vibe" vote –– it's matey, blokey, a bit daytime TV. The big galvanising force is immigration and reducing taxes, plus law and order. As long as they continue to signal this, the actually policies aren't so important

James Butler · ‘Need a lord on the board?’: Mandelson and the Lobbyists Why​ did a man whose political expertise was acquired in the departed era of broadcast television maintain such...

I wrote on the fall of Peter Mandelson for the next issue of the @lrb.co.uk

Online early now:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Billionaire halts mass eviction after London Centric investigation Exclusive: Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital hoped to replace hundreds of tenants with more lucrative temporary accommodation. That plan has been shelved – for now.

Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital halts mass eviction after London Centric uncovered what was going on. Hundreds of Londoners now receiving bizarre door-to-door visits blaming misinformation and being asked to record videos saying they don't want to be evicted. www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...

"Unfortunately, while fossil capitalists may be losing, they are losing too slowly—and, crucially, slowly enough to continue making the returns they and their backers expect while cooking the planet in the process"

Electro-Capitalism Ours is the age of transition: from fossil capital to electricity capital. The future that emerges will be determined by the fierce struggles of the present.

NEW: Gareth Fearn lays out the stakes of "electro-capitalism".

"The economic basis of this transition is not simply between technologies of energy production. Rather, it is between two different fractions of capital."

www.break-down.org/electro-capi...

TOMORROW: Don't miss our Editor @adriennebuller.bsky.social in conversation with @annpettifor.bsky.social on The Global Casino at Foyles in London.

www.foyles.co.uk/events/the-g...

A brilliant and provocative essay by Gareth Fearn, on the emerging conflict between fossil and electric capital

Subscribe for the best in new climate writing and analysis. Your support makes our work possible.

www.break-down.org/subscribe-now/

A provocative piece of analysis from @gfearn.bsky.social on the likely shape of the energy transition and the conflicts that really define it for @the-breakdown.bsky.social

recommended read!

Electro-Capitalism Ours is the age of transition: from fossil capital to electricity capital. The future that emerges will be determined by the fierce struggles of the present.

✍️New essay for @the-breakdown.bsky.social which attempts an analysis of the energy transition as one between two competing fractions of capital - fossil and electric - and the conflicts and struggles which will lead towards an 'electro-capitalism' (or not!)

www.break-down.org/electro-capi...

See you there?

Londoners: next Wednesday we'll be discussing how the right won the internet with @profafinlayson.bsky.social. Open to all, but limited capacity, so RSVP essential.

To: londontalkingshop@gmail.com

Londoners: next Wednesday we'll be discussing how the right won the internet with @profafinlayson.bsky.social. Open to all, but limited capacity, so RSVP essential.

To: londontalkingshop@gmail.com

Here are some thoughts on the Palestine Action ruling for the @lrb.co.uk. The ruling shows the importance of the UK Government's national security assessments being challenged - which doesn't happen enough under our current system.

James Goldsmith, godfather of British populism Unlike Nigel Farage or Rupert Lowe, Goldsmith told the truth

'James Goldsmith, godfather of British populism', by @johnmerrick.bsky.social, for @newstatesman1913.bsky.social.

Three Peaks The story of climate action is one of peaks—promised, assumed or still to come.

"Who has an interest in claiming a peak is nigh, or too high to reach? If the peak occurs, how fast will the descent be, and where is the bottom of the mountain?"

New this week @the-breakdown.bsky.social:

@noahjgordon.bsky.social writes on the politics of promises

www.break-down.org/three-peaks/

Three Peaks The story of climate action is one of peaks—promised, assumed or still to come. But who, and what, do those peaks ultimately serve?

The story of climate action is one of peaks—promised, assumed, or still to come. But who, and what, do those peaks ultimately serve?

My first essay for @the-breakdown.bsky.social !
Thx @johnmerrick.bsky.social & @adriennebuller.bsky.social
www.break-down.org/three-peaks/

"People are feeling incredibly insecure, and rightly so. In those circumstances, they're looking to strongmen and women to protect them."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=psMM...

James Goldsmith, godfather of British populism Unlike Nigel Farage or Rupert Lowe, Goldsmith told the truth

For the New Statesman I tracked the career of the corporate raiding Thatcherite turned populist tribune, James Goldsmith

www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2026/0...

Cheers David! Coming from someone who knows far more about right-wing euroscepticism than i ever will, that means a lot