You’d never know from this headline, of course, that it’s Israel who broke the ceasefire agreement.

US rejects 'impractical' Hamas demands as Gaza truce hangs in balance: bbc.com

Well, well, well.

Ealing Council’s cost-cutting budget includes “improving” the borough’s children’s centre services by cutting them in half.

The “consultation” ends on 27 April…

Think of the children: davidmarsden.info

A Very British Coup.

Watched the first two (of three) episodes of A Very British Coup (also available on YouTube) last night.

First broadcast in the summer of 1988, when socialist Tony Benn came close to being elected as deputy leader of the Labour party, then in opposition to Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government.

Radical socialist and Sheffield Wednesday fan Harry Perkins becomes the UK prime minister, with financial backing for his government’s economic policies from the state bank of Russia after the US, CIA, Labour “moderates” and the British establishment conspire to subvert the democratic will of the people.

Plenty of echoes in today’s political environment, and great acting from Ray McAnally, Keith Allen and others. Doesn’t seem dated at all.

Some things never change.

My boy got his picture taken for the local council propaganda rag when they opened the school street this week.

Think of the children

Ealing Council are consulting on their proposals to improve services offered by the borough’s children’s centres to children under five and their parents by reducing the number of centres from 25 to 12.

In Southall, the poorest and most deprived of the seven towns in the borough, and the town with the highest rates of new arrivals to the country, English as a second language, and up to 40,000 new residents occupying all the new builds homes currently being developed, the council proposes to improve uptake of services at the six Southall children’s centres by reducing their number to two.

If you’re not already persuaded that this is an obvious, winning and ever-so-centristly adult and professional management of the local economy, then let me elaborate further with some data!

The problem with the children’s centres as they are now is that they are very inefficient. In some parts of Southall where there are no children’s centres, for instance, as few as a third of children are accessing services offered by children’s centres based in other parts of the town. And while arguably one of the best and most successful of the purpose-built and award-winning children’s centres reaches over two thirds of children in its locality, if we close this one down, repurpose the building as something else (more unaffordable high-rise flat$$$? [like we tried to do with Southall Young Adult Centre, the only youth club in town]), and get our (private) less-qualified and experienced partners to deliver cheaper and less effective children’s services in community venues such as the recently repurposed community-centre-as-a-library, churches, mosques, gurdwaras and mandirs, everyone’s a winner, right?

I should be a highly paid consultant!

To those of you who actually live in Southall, and who are mostly women (of colour) and have children who have used or use these services now, and who say to me, “Hmmm…. This sounds like cost-cutting. We need more children’s centres not fewer. What you’re proposing is madness. You’re a Labour council, why are you doing this? Many people won’t be able to travel half an hour or more on foot or be able to afford public transport to the two remaining centres. Many people won’t want to go to the places where they worship and which are highly patriarchal, not known for confidentiality, and not designed for children’s safe and secure play and development. The library is too small, and small children like to make a lot of noise and run around. Instead of looking for new exclusionary venues, why not just use the safe and secure, purpose-built inclusive children’s centres we already have? Market the services offered in the library and the faith centres”: your feedback is valuable and I have no answers. Please fill in the survey and rate my brass neck out of five.

It’s all a bit rich coming from the same council who lectured Warren Farm campaigners on the health and wellbeing of Southall’s children two short years ago. Local people fought the council’s plans to destroy much of the rewilded land at Warren Farm Nature Reserve in order to build new football and cricket pitches on it, and instead wanted to preserve Warren Farm as a nature reserve so that local children living in an otherwise urban environment would have some wildlife and peace and quiet on open land to visit. Meanwhile, the two cricket pitches at Southall Recreation Ground which are used all day every weekend in all weathers are dilapidated and dangerous.

American values.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy on the forced disappearance of Mahmoud Khalil

#Israel #Palestine #Gaza #MahmoudKhalil

Save Ealing's Children's Centres

Save Ealing’s Children’s Centres

Actions we can all do:

SIGN THE PETITION - Over 1,000 neighbours already have. Every signature shows our community’s strength.

SPEAK UP BY 27 APRIL - Tell the Council closing 13 centres is unacceptable. Fill in the online consultation.

CONTACT COUNCILLOR JOSH BLACKER - Your personal stories matter. Tell him how these centres support your family.

blackerj@ealing.gov.uk

Template email. Please personalise to make it more powerful, or better still write your own!

VISIT YOUR LOCAL CENTRE - Show it’s valued. Bring neighbours who might not know what’s at stake.

Why This Matters To Everyone

• Your children lose vital services - health support, parenting help, and early learning will disappear from your neighbourhood

• Hardest hit: families who can least afford it - longer journeys, more costs, and fewer services for those already struggling

• Growing population, fewer services - Ealing’s population is increasing while services are being cut

• Your voice matters - especially if English isn’t your first language or you live in an affected area

“This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians. More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in PalestineUkraine.”

Boris Johnson has a lot to answer for.

Is he a communist spy, too?

He knew before anyone else that it was Putin who poisoned the Skripals, and held secret meetings with a Russian oligarch soon after.

He’s been stoking Russophobia ever since.

He met with the Russian oligarch again just prior to deciding that “herd immunity” was the way to beat covid-19, leading to tens of thousands of deaths.

He made the Russian oligarch a Lord soon after.

He flew to Kyiv to prevent a ceasefire three years ago, promulgating instead an endless war that will erode our defences and economy before it erodes Russia’s.

He’s a Trump apologist.

Big kid brought home a June 1983 copy of National Geographic from the school library today (I said it needs an update!).

Auto-generated description: A National Geographic cover from June 1983 features an image of space with the Horsehead Nebula and list of articles inside.

Some things never change.

A comment and a response discuss perceptions of bias in a National Geographic article on the Beirut destruction in February 1983, with differing views on anti-Semitism.