đ«đźđŹđ§ Social policy and global goals. Society for all ages. Outside work: anxious Iâll accidentally pack my cat.
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Found it hard to sleep thinking about the protest in London. I am grateful for @hopenothate.org.ukâs investigations as they give context. Iâm in London in a few weeks and Iâm sure it will feel normal. But I feel I have to understand more about what is going on under the surface. Any other sources?
Lots of citizens campaigning for closer ties with Europe in đŹđȘ too.
My message might get screened out as I am currently outside the UK. But those of you who are inside it might want to write something.
@stephenkb.bsky.social @Nicovel0 Wilsonâs statement was strong.
MistÀ löysit kuvan?
There is a lot going on in that picture. I think I have to invest more time in the language of symbols these days. Flags, emojis, memes. i donât understand the world.
News from Finland. A 9-year-old lost an especially good stick heâd had since he was 2. He hung up 20 posters. A few days later it was returned. It had been found by a 2-year-old, who wanted to keep it for herself, but her mother made her return it. She got toys, flowers and candy as a reward.
Flaggers canât even flag properly.
Puzzled by why the âUnite the Kingdomâ racists are carrying the flag of Georgia (a country I am keen to visit but surprised itâs on their radar apart from the red and white colour scheme).
When I am more on the same page with H&M about the need for safe and dignified routes for migration, than I am with either of the governments I pay taxes to.
đŻ this. I feel so liberated now to frame the positive case for population ageing as being possibility-making, now that I'm not tripping over my tongue the whole time with trying to get the correct NGO language around the issue... Just feeling, thinking, reacting instead!
I thought the point about fringe views was interesting. Because the population change (pillar not pyramid, leading to fertility panic) is such a novel phenomenon, there is no mainstream yet - so itâs hard to say what is fringe. My own indicator is does it make me cackle in disbelief (yeah but NO).
Itâs good to see this. Demography has not exactly been popularised before and now thereâs an urgent need for everyone to understand both the long arcs that have for us here and the unforeseen futures of population development
@mikkonen.bsky.social
Sounds like a variant of the MAGA âtheyâre eating the petsâ line.
It was a great newsletter though. The understated acid of it got me through a morning of fury.
Ah, he is gone. Good. I didnât like the idea of the British path to a relationship with Trump being paved with the bodies of abused women. Call me over-sensitive.
I am shocked, shocked, that Labour did not give a role to a competent woman but went with a man that they felt, just, well, felt like he had the edge
like it took me half an hour to express to a friend what I found so insulting in this statement âŹïž. It clearly feels like an insult to gay men I have worked alongside in child safeguarding work, but more than that. Something so wrong with this statement but I canât pinpoint it.
Is it that? There are just so many words these days I donât know how to keep track. I have days I donât really do grammar in either of my languages because the sentences are just nonsense anyway.
I think itâs the Lion King. knowyourmeme.com/memes/rememb...
It's terrible either way, I think, because the position as it stands is 'I am ashamed of this real message, which per the country I am ambassador to, is in the same book as a fake message' Or as Gary describes:
There is some interesting stuff here in the UN world population report on people's desired family size, and reasons for choosing a smaller family. Some things that policy makers can act on it if they want to try to engineer demography again... but it would take real effort. www.unfpa.org/swp2025
Canât read any more about Epstein. Just confirms what we knew about powerful men treating women as disposables. For some reason Iâm particularly grossed out by Mandelson. Like I thought he might have had some moral disgust about it. But no.
That must have been so annoying. Like, youâve told your friends and family about it, quit your job, cheerily said âmaybe see you in Westminster some timeâ to some randoms and then - eh heyyy, Iâm backâŠ
Zero knowledge to contribute to discussion but would quietly enjoy a thread of further quirky facts about elections. I liked the Miss Marple one and Reggieâs 12000 Barnet conservatives.
Saw a woman in the cafe wearing her wine-red cowl necked sweater and soft pants combo, clearly crying out for autumn, if silently. I feel it too. And yet it stays insistently 20C and slightly humid like summer just doesn't know how to leave the party and is on a mission to get messy.
Bemused that the USA is sending an artist to Intervision, Putinâs anti-camp challenger to the Eurovision Song Contest. They will perform alongside Kazakhstan and Venezuela. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...
When the forest earth is damp but itâs sunny through the trees, those are the best days.
And then her money would have been in the care system immediately paying for a wage - instead of being saved for her own care at some unspecified point in the future. But if the message is that there will be no care for her, the rational thing is to hang onto what she can.
Perhaps the advantages for them too need to be clearer. My mother was the nurse/carer for my father for 15 years of retirement. She worries financially but I expect she would have traded more tax for a better care system so she could have had some days off. (đŹđ§not đ©đȘ but comparable?)
Surely itâs simpler, fairer and less like collective punishment to introduce higher taxes on the higher income end of pensioners?
As part of the we, not the they - this would be a lot easier to do without climate change doing a number on the Arctic region.
@mikkonen.bsky.social possible counterpoint to the zombie stat that countries with younger populations win the innovation race? China's population skews older than USA no...? Almost like it's more systems and commitments and habits that produce innovation...
Blink-and-you-miss-it but quietly heartbreaking notice on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
I noticed when I moved to Finland that every party in the local election in my city had a manifesto commitment on mould. Because people know that mould in schools or public places is bad for health. And they expect the city (city-region council) to sort it out. Weirdly healthy, politically!
I think this is a great point to make. The narrative seems too set in in the UK about "councils don't have enough money to do anything except social care" - even if true, social care is HUGE. But as you point out, that is far from the whole story of local govt.
All the most toxic conversations I have ever had at work involved someone talking about "bringing a grown-up" in. I can smell the mixture of insecurity and self-satisfaction right now.
And this spells out neatly the connection between racism and the desire to control women.
I know right!! It's kind of funny in its reasonably expressed deludedness. But scary. Like, I want to get on top of this before it gets going. But also I'm laughing at the consideration with which the commenter said "human children" - as opposed to fur babies?.
@mikkonen.bsky.social
Anyone concerned with gender equality needs to watch how the current fertility panic is tending. See this in the comments of the article below - and not the only one, just the most reasonably expressed. Gilead can be brought about by people wearing the most reasonable looking business suits.
Thanks, that's helpful insight.
I'm interested in whether it is actually parallel, and to what extent the references to maintaining the unique role of the UN are real and a priority.
That is an excellent tiger. Looks wise, patient, but will tolerate no fools.
âRegional & #globalhealth organisations must do more to support LMIC to stem #braindrainâ đ adherence to ethical recruitment, help destination countries w/ self-sufficiency, advocate for source countries & foster bilateral agreements among source & destination countries www.bmj.com/content/390/...
One of my school friends in London got called the P word for the first time since primary school this week. The wall between social media and real life is clearly breached. I'm frustrated I'm not back in London tbh. A vol-private sector coalition would not be hard to set up, this is a crisis.
*retreats, grumbling, with beaker of sour milk to plot parsnip subversion.
Shout out to my global social policy peeps. Do we have one social indicator that is as iconic as GDP to economics or arguably ppm (of CO2) for climate? I donât think we do but maybe I am having a âcanât see the wood for the treesâ brain glitch?
Dammit I just had my parsnips poised to sneak in under some Neolithic honey extracted with my bare hands from a hole in a tree.
And nettle pesto.
Cobnuts. Turnip and cobnuts (actually that could be delish though wild amount of work to prepare).
observer.co.uk/news/columni... Great read, on the point but some very funny slices of life.
I half agree - nobody should think that GDP is either the only stat in town, nor irrelevant. And I think the "missing data" angle is fine. But I do think that numbers hold weight with certain kinds of decision makers and not being able to count, for example unpaid care, does make it more invisible.
Soste tsemppaus Espalla tÀnÀ aamuna. / Protests about cuts to health and social care in the government quarter of Helsinki this morning.
The fact that more asylum seekers per boat, leading to more chance of drowning is being hailed as a Labour success; while Labour also cuts the aid budget, suggests that the modern Labour approach to humanitarian crises and persecution is to let people die âin placeâ. on.ft.com/4lOWqFP
Interesting how Novo Nordisk has become to Denmark what Nokia was to Finland. Back then, new telecoms was enough to change a national stock market. In this case, the market around treatments for non-communicable diseases and obesity can make or break a nation's growth plan.
Paul Sein Twa kertoo kirjeessÀÀn Petteri Orpolle, ettĂ€ Suomen tuki on ollut jo vuosien ajan ratkaisevassa asemassa karen-alkuperĂ€iskansan elintĂ€rkeille metsĂ€nsuojeluhankkeille. âLisĂ€leikkaukset syventĂ€isivĂ€t nykyistĂ€ kriisitilaa [Myanmarissa].â Lue koko kirje: buff.ly/AaydxVu #kehitysyhteistyö
@mikkonen.bsky.social itâs unstoppable! Or⊠is it? đ”ïžââïž
My husbandâs colleagues gifted him an axe as a leaving gift. Reading up about this special axe, I see it sells itself on reducing the risk of hitting the foot. Not eliminating of course, that would be ridiculous. Just a reminder that social niceties in Finland are different, I guess.
I find that so depressing as here in Finland my tween girl is quite happy going to a skate park. Interesting interaction between the infrastructure and social culture, clearly. Anyway I wish you strength and thank you for the very well evidenced insights.
There are real disagreements between Denmark and Greenland. But that the US appears to be conducting influence operations is another sign of the times we are in. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Anders Breivik on ollut jonkun inspiraatio.
They might be (GE). There would be a logic to getting Farage in while Trump is still in. Detachment from Europe, hammer blows to remaining British multilateralism. Or they could just be âon exercises.â I donât know.
I don't want to be inflammatory but everything I read about the UK media tone on refugees at the moment feels a bit Radio-Television Libre des Milles Collines in 1994.
Saw an interesting thread this am from the US about how even a small riot can generate good pictures with which to win a propaganda war, so inciting small riots is effectively part of a media strategy. I don't quite know what the end goal is in the UK though of such a strategy.
I often think when I am in the UK that how men react to womenâs football is a quick way to know their gut instinct on equality (if they are otherwise into menâs football of course).
Or he did a copy-paste from a list of key messages sent by his handlers.
Iâve spent a couple of decades shrieking ânot an earth motherâ so that I donât get inveigled into endless bake sales and babysitting but I am eagerly awaiting my crone years. As evidenced by the insane amount of berry prep I have done this year. #CronePathway
Russian politicians and state-owned media flaunted the closely watched Putin-Trump summit in Alaska as a historic success.
I canât quite ever handle Labour rhetoric - the finest people, world class, best on Earth, stuff. Too Trumpian. But as a Finn raised in London I can hand-on-heart agree that itâs simply wonderful, and does indeed make a mock of far-right fear-mongering.
Surprises. Street fashion. Smells and sounds. Stimulation.
The word Salora made me nostalgic but then I found someone who is really, really, nostalgic: www.tori.fi/recommerce/f...?
Do it to Julia.
You with your well-regulated views and me with my aperitif of the damned.
Iâm panicking a bit because I bought it but I canât possibly drink it and now itâs just going to sit there, undrunk and like a constant threat of decay and dissolution, or that bottle at the beginning of Alice in Wonderland.
Murto "ei nÀe realistisena", ettÀ omaisuutta pakkohuutokaupattaisiin vanhushoivan rahoittamiseksi. Ehken minÀkÀÀn nÀe. Mutta realistisena voi ilmeisesti nÀhdÀ, ettÀ naiset tekevÀt entistÀ enemmÀn hoivatyötÀ ja luopuvat entistÀ enemmÀn vapaudestaan. Koska sitÀ omaisten vastuun lisÀÀminen tarkoittaa.
Omg do you even have anything that reads a floppy disk?
To make matters worse I have discovered that they sell it in premix miniatures. For the pre-parties, I guess.
Doing Things Right Versus Doing the Right Things? Ownership's Effect on the Sustainable Development Goals onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... B Reinsberg in Global Policy.
This is frustrating. While countries are trying to step up and fill the gaps left by the disappearance of aid, we know they are not prioritising anything that looks at all controversial - like SRHR. So aid cuts are already hitting women disproportionately hard. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Local, national, and regional institutions are everything now. Supporting emerging institutions even if they are flawed. Finding networks to keep alive human rights, equalities. Looking at the cost of financing. But the era of scale interventions, good and life-saving as it was, is over. 10/10
Where I find myself disagreeing, nervously, with powerful men, is how to support that change. I don't agree with David Miliband, Bill Gates, etc that what global north allies need to do is pick a few interventions "to go to scale". That's still the old way. I can't agree, small as I am. 9/n.
Civil society will continue to have a role around inclusion of marginalised populations, accountability, and keeping alive the spirit of human rights. In humanitarian work there will probably still need to be some regional or international surge force as by its nature, crises overwhelm coping. 8/n
How countries build systems if they are spending more on debt service than health, education (as 20 countries in Africa) is a question, probably reliant on regional solidarity or yet more debt. Mutual insurance systems for natural disasters. In 10-15 a world without aid will feel normal. 7/n
Finally, positively, I looked at plans that countries and regions are making to build their own post-aid financing for the social sector, like the new Africa Health Sovereignty Conference. Nobody expects aid to come back, and if it did it would take years to rebuild the broken delivery systems. 6/n
I then looked at research on impacts on the donor country itself: loss of trust, loss of international support/soft power, and the domestic impacts of future conflicts and pandemics in terms of costs, addressing refugee movements and ill health. All well argued but too future facing for govts. 5/n
The "deaths not averted" figurenow runs into the tens of millions. It's impossible to look at this maths without some kind of mental breakdown. Which is why these figures are useless for lobbying leaders like Keir Starmer, they will not look at them, I am sure. Nobody could own that decision. 4/n
We are much more careful about statistics than our opponents so we find it hard to express in numbers the human impact. And we can't in fairness say "deaths caused" by cuts, rather "deaths not averted." Plans were made for lifesaving work which are now cancelled. A pledge not fulfilled. 3/n
I spent several days last week at work bringing together everything I have seen on the effects of aid cuts by the US, UK, Germany, France and Sweden. This was in response to Finland's Finance Minister proposing the 4th set of aid cuts in this parliamentary term. But this is a personal view. 2/n
A personal thread 𧔠on how to get to a post-aid world, and how development and humanitarian work might happen there. NB I am very tired, sadder than I have ever been, and these thoughts are a work in progress as I try to see a path ahead for things like global health and women's rights. 1/n
Love Earl Grey but have the same "cannot fathom" about adding milk to tea. With you on "going for a drive", my mum does this and I have my face pressed to the window, watching what we could have enjoyed. Others from me: Game of Thrones, board games, group shopping trips.
Next time you are in Finland I strongly encourage you to try the Fisherman's Friend imbued Koskenkorva shot that my cousin's partner insisted to me were essential to try. It may make you rethink your views about shots, although possibly to make them more extreme.
Take some of that.
apnews.com/article/isra... Uutiset muuttuu pÀivÀ pÀivÀltÀ hullummaksi. EtelÀ-Sudan on sodan runtelema, poliittisesta vÀkivallasta kÀrsivÀ ja rÀjÀhdysherkÀssÀ sisÀpoliittisessa tilanteessa oleva hauras valtio, jossa valmiiksi miljoonia (maan sisÀisiÀ) pakolaisia ja riippuvuus esim ruoka-avusta.
Well he can get to fuck. Women are not a cover-up for his racist fantasies.
Thatâs convincing and helpful, thank you.
This is a man who has no idea what he's talking about, & no understanding of his interlocutor's motivation, about to sell out Ukraine to Putin, who knows exactly how to manipulate Trump. Europe cannot let this stand, if it wants to save itself as well as Ukraine.