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patelsmie.bsky.social
Pat
@patelsmie.bsky.social
76 followers 230 following 360 posts
More curious now than ever. Life, Love, the whole damned thing. Ribbon: for Peace and Compassion. *We are where we are because of where we have been. Each choice, each decision rolls us forward. But each moment has its own Choice.*
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Reposted by Pat
Action. Reaction. Consequences.

Choices matter.
Net migration to the UK is falling rapidly. But how far will it fall? A new, detailed estimate by @jamesbowes01.bsky.social projects net migration in 2026 will be 70K to 170K.

This will have significant consequences, both economic and political.

ukandeu.ac.uk/the-coming-c...
Next is the shoe being placed on the other foot: where the unashamed arrogance of privilege, exceptionalism & brawn is recognised for its own hollow meaninglessness.

We are as like each Other as we can get, notwithstanding the many uniquenesses we each have, our veritable treasures, gifts to share.
This. Is what we’ve become.

It doesn’t resolve anything; but, our open and unreserved admittance of our innermost views, using hurtful, demeaning, racially-toned language, can be seen as a step forward for humanity.

After all, Naming our fears should be the start of *internalising* Difference.
>>
Well. Some people can still think for themselves.
Will political powerplayers ever connect the dots? Selective theorising is a deeply flawed and harmful gamble with lives.

Then again the lemming behaviour is an exceptional response that may just prove the myth in our human context.
If the Reform Party plan to abolish indefinite leave to remain also abolishes settled status for EU citizens, that would be a breach of the withdrawal agreement, liable to lead to the EU retaliating by removing trade preferences.
Extraordinary piece from @yangyangcheng.bsky.social.
So grateful to write for @dissentmag.bsky.social's Fall 2025 issue "Authoritarianism and Resistance." I drafted the piece in June with the new school year in mind, as an immigrant scholar severed from her homeland: What can we teach the young about how to exist and persist at this historic juncture?
To Outlive Tyranny - Dissent Magazine
Flesh and blood alone cannot halt the advance of iron and steel. To stop the tanks, we need people to place blocks on the road and throw sand into the gears.
www.dissentmagazine.org
Indeed. But does anyone have the courage or dare I say decency, to give it a try?

For decades, the HO has not risen to its purpose, rather it’s fallen to the self-interested of all political hues, mostly the “blame Outsiders” brigade who haven’t been able to devise a fair balance of needs/concerns.
The Chancellor wants (rightly) to reduce regulatory burdens, boost growth *and* dampen inflation.

Most obvious way to do all these is a liberal, flexible immigration system that encourages work migrants and international students.

So she should start with Home Office

www.ft.com/content/7732...
Rachel Reeves to tell ministers to prioritise fight against UK inflation
Labour MPs increasingly concerned about ‘straitjacket’ imposed on economic policy
www.ft.com
Replenish your core often. Deep breaths and silence help me ground myself. Even a minute at a time makes a difference.

Trusting your weekend will refresh and build your energy and sense of hope.
Ever grateful you & others are still in the field. To have passed some batons on is important as you all have youth on your side. Energy is crucial. But hope is even more important. Finding time to empty yourself of all the negative, wrong energy absorbed from issues the world faces is a challenge!
Taking profit to new heights of the art of the dice, and the dying #WorldAsWeveKnownIt

Too good to miss a trick. #LifeIsAGamble and do we know it!

Lloyd’s of London U-turns on fossil fuels
Which makes it doubly (or more) despicable that oil and gas firms are squeezing ever last drop of value out of their now disreputable industry whilst encouraging the undiscerning public to collude with their mis-sell. Responsibility starts with them and their investors to show corporate integrity.
🤨 #potandkettle

Hugely anticipating how the world’s nations including the peer review group will grill the USA about its record of human rights behaviours at November’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights HQ in Geneva.

Pre-sessions kicking off 26/08: upr-info.org/en/review/un...
What would Aesop say, I wonder? Or Hans Christian Andersen?

O, the lessons we learn.

And, Dr Seuss!

@davidallengreen.bsky.social
It is shocking and diabolical that people choose to be swayed by bigoted tropes and anti-Other sentiment. That they continue to be swayed even after years of easier global communications, access, travel, food, technology, community-led outreach, cultural and humanistic approaches, laws!

Says a lot.
The narrative has rapidly escalated from ‘We don’t know who these people are’ to ‘We know who these people are and they’re evil’.

The societal consequences of this racism cannot be controlled.

The manufactured public paranoia of ‘brown boat men’ will threaten all people of colour in our country.
After all, this IS the only Life we’ve got. And we do need to replenish. Like everything on this planet, it requires deliberate will and effort. THAT is exactly what we have to offer, if we choose.

Have a good vacation!
Now here’s the kicker.

Shortterm politicking frequently and even deliberately masks the reality, leading to forward planning left off the table or at back of a deep shelf.

EPI report👇🏼has clear recommendations on falling popln and roll numbers!

But it’s all a game for politicians. And we let them!
The impact of falling school rolls - Education Policy Institute (2024). This big demographic change tends to be ignored in all of the reporting, commentary on VAT on private fees.

(It is counterintuitive due to media assumptions about immigration + population)

epi.org.uk/publications...
School funding model: Effect of falling school rolls - Education Policy Institute
This report is the first to use EPI’s new school funding model, which replicates the Department for Education’s own national funding formula (NFF) and allows us to analyse the impact of potential fund...
epi.org.uk
Reposted by Pat
Our government and media are complicit in enabling racist violence, our latest report shows.

One year since the racist riots broke out across the UK, violence which has continued since, those in power cannot continue to deny their enabling role.

Read the report here 👉 www.runnymedetrust.o...
A hostile environment: language, race, surveillance and the media
A hostile environment: language, race, surveillance and the media is the second of two reports analysing parliamentary and media debates from 2010-2024, and shows how large sections of these debates encouraged widespread hostility to migrants.
www.runnymedetrust.org
“Advisory opinions are technically non-binding but are considered authoritative because they summarise existing law rather than create laws.”

They at least give credit to reason and just regard for the rule of law, the least we can expect of a civilised society.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Nations who fail to curb fossil fuels could be ordered to pay reparations, top UN court rules
Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitution
www.theguardian.com
Like the conundrum of the song,
And the circles in the spiral,
Life has its own momentum
Working towards completion,
That ever advancing loci
Of its own time and space.

open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Fossil Fool
How Europe took Trump for a ride
open.substack.com
Just getting on with it. 🙄
The knife edge just got sharper.

Donald Trump blocks Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te from New York stopover