Elaine

Today is Day 1 of the #OpenSchoolDoor one-month campaign for Afghan women and girls. Over 2.2 million Afghan girls are banned from secondary and higher education. The Taliban have closed girls’ schools — making Afghanistan the only country in the world to do so. For more than 4 years (since March 2022), girls above grade 6 have been kept out of school — now entering the fifth year of this ban, with thousands of days stolen from their education. While Taliban leaders send their own daughters abroad (to Qatar, Pakistan, etc.) to study, millions of girls inside Afghanistan are not even allowed to enter a school. This hypocrisy is blatant! If this ban continues, in ten years there will be no new female doctors, nurses, or midwives left. The world must not stay silent in the face of the destruction of Afghan women’s future! Our girls stand behind locked school doors. The world must NOT recognize the Taliban! Condemn sex apartheid now. #OpenSchoolDoor

🚨 This Lego video is circulating supposedly telling you “how the Iranians, the real ones” feel. The AI video with AI rap says “I don’t want the politics, I don’t want the war, I just want to know their names, say their names”. My first thought: “at last, the people inside Iran speak out!” But no. It is a regime sponsored video, a sinister one too because it’s subtle. I don’t blame this lady at all. It pulls at the heart strings. But it’s a regime video. How do we know? Firstly this differentiation between Iranians and “real Iranians”. They want you to see a divide. Now there are Iranians outside the country, and inside. Even the ones inside are split between white Sim card holders who can communicate with the world, known as ‘regime supporters’ and there’s the vast majority of people who have no Internet, known as ‘anti-regime protestors’. In this video “the real Iranians” are the ones holding the crab-like regime flag of Iran (2nd image) thus it’s regime sponsored. A regime that hates America. So anything in the video glorifying America is utter nonsense trying to manipulate. Also the video only calls for the names of the “168” children in Minab. Where there has still been no independent investigation of the school bombing tragedy, where evidence is coming to light from the parents - currently being silenced - that there were two schools side by side, one with the children of IRGC commanders evacuated just in time, and the other which got hit had its doors purposefully locked from the outside. The intention being pupils from the Baluch minority (traditionally staunchly anti-regime) would be sacrificed by the regime to start a propaganda war. Propaganda the parents were forced to participate in. This is coming from inside Minab covered by the intentional press. Which is exactly what we said would happen if a war started: the regime would sacrifice innocent Iranians, woman & children, anyone, to stay in power. Of course the names of these children must be remembered - but in the correct context. The video has ZERO mention of the daily executions of teenage protesters. ZERO mention of the enforced internet black out (now entering day 71) and ZERO mention the 40,000 slaughtered by the regime. This is the crucial context which the video conveniently leaves out. If you are “legitimately choked up” by this video then here is news for you: you’ve completely fallen for the propaganda of a terrorist regime. Propaganda that seeks to appeal to the ONLY thing that will keep them in power: American public opinion. The way to end the war is to end the regime. The only thing that will bring peace to the entire region is to end the regime. Anything less and the world is keeping a regime in power who have vowed to punish their own people, 14 million of whom were protesting, which got the attention of the world in the first place, and vowed to continue to export their ideology of hate and inflict even more tyranny on the world. America. Stop VALIDATING the regime in Iran. Your validation of these videos is supporting the biggest terrorist organisation the world has ever seen.

Just a reminder that Andrew Mitchell, Kit Malthouse and Danny Finkelstein all think Labour MPs should make Assisted Dying the priority on May 21st. One week after the King’s Speech

On hantavirus: a thread. (Disclaimer: I am a biology PhD, but not a virologist - I leave that to Husbandman. I am told I’m fairly good at communicating, so here’s my shot.) #hantavirus

@FondOfBeetles Excellent, clear explanation. Thank you 🙂

I know the boat didn’t really recognise they were dealing with hantavirus, and made some decisions that look poor *In hindsight*. But this is not COVID. Still: just don’t get on flights or go to birthday parties if you feel ill. Sometimes it’s good not to share 🤣

On Hantavirus: a (non-technical) thread. Disclaimer: I am a biology PhD, but not virology/epidemiology. Husbandman is a virology PhD. But I’m told I’m good at communicating science, so here’s my take. #Hantavirus

@sharrond62 Rigby and Peller don't use tape measures either. It's all in the training, apparently, but if that's done properly, it does work.

How does that work?! 😳

@GregBroadhurst You must have acidic soil if you can grow heathers - we live on Kentish chalk, so they wouldn't be happy here! We've just planted up a gravel bed to replace a "lawn" (mainly moss) which I've enjoyed doing. Any excuse to go and buy plants 😉

Bit of colour in the growing patch I built in the corner of the garden. Heather has done nicely over the winter which will eventually end up as a trailing edge. Summer stuff in for the colour, that’ll all look great in a few weeks, really love our local nursery for their stuff!

"There are people in this nation now hunting Jews, for no other reason than they are Jews. Everything else is just a way of justifying their persecution." MUST WATCH monologue by @TrevorPTweets on Sky News, as he reflects on the unrelenting explosion of Jew-hatred in Britain.

@MyringNikolia @RosieKayK2CO Sounds like excellent taste to me. They're both prominent pro-Pal activists (particularly disappointing in MM, who's Jewish).

@RosieKayK2CO Lipman is a bigoted Zionist and has been proudly so for years. This was 2020

Maureen Lipman is currently the target of a campaign of personal vilification and antisemitic abuse intended to secure her cancellation. For those committed to dismantling racism, it must be stated with absolute clarity that such tactics have no place within our cultural life. This campaign of intimidation is an attempt to force a lawful production off the stage through organised pressure. As venues face increasing pressure to exclude Jewish artists, our research in The New Boycott Crisis demonstrates that this is part of a broader, damaging pattern of informal cancellation across the arts. We must respond with calm, lawful clarity and stand in firm solidarity against such intimidation. @Freedom_in_Arts

Letter from Afghan Girls to Dear @jk_rowling This is our second letter to you. We read your kind reply to our first letter, and it gave us so much hope and strength. We are Afghan girls secretly studying in WDI Afghanistan online education program. For five years, the world has forgotten us. We have no rights — no education, no work, no freedom, and no voice.  We are locked inside our homes. Many of us are forced into early marriage. Many cry alone. Some have lost all hope. Your Harry Potter stories once filled our childhood with light. Today, we need your courage more than ever. Thank you for standing with us when world leaders and UN turned away. Your voice and stand up is important for us. Our online classes are our only hope, but we cannot activate internet and we don’t have the ability to keep it running. Please join us in our online program. Come and talk with us, support us, and help us with the internet and education support . Please, don’t leave us alone. Be our voice. Tell the world that Afghan girls are still here — still breathing, still fighting, still dreaming , and still learning. We need you. With love and respect , The Girls of the WDI Online Education Program

Great article from @friendsofwisdom about our regular Support Group meetings. They've been described by many as a lifeline and we're delighted to be able to fund them.

@AberdareNic Indeed. I've just finished reading Do Not Go Gentle. Excellent description and analysis of the issues with assisted death.

This is absolutely spot on 👌

@AberdareNic He was very keen on the Lords going through the Brexit Bill with a fine-tooth comb.....

These are just outright lies. And these same people will also complain about the rise of populism but is it any wonder when the public are told demonstrable lies by people that are meant to uphold our democracy.

What could go wrong?!

Our London Marathon choir of 10 is now a choir of two - thanks to Scope's actions. If you enjoying singing and can be in south east London tomorrow morning, please get in touch. Ironically (some might say) we are an inclusive group. No previous choir experience needed. All the songs are well known and we provide lyric books (so you don't need to be able to read music). We're a 'pop up' choir - so are well used to singers rocking up and joining us on the day. If you enjoy singing in the shower/car you're in. No politics - just fun, singing and encouraging the runners. janet@janetmurray.co.uk or DM if you can help.

Baroness @Fox_Claire makes a key point: concerns about assisted suicide are NOT indifference to suffering. In fact, many terminally ill people feel that political enthusiasm for this Bill, rather than investment in palliative care, makes them feel like a burden.

@kitmalthouse Your tweet exemplifies why the Bill is such a mess. You see peers like Baroness Campbell as obstacles to bulldoze through, rather than engage with the substance of their concerns.

@SpiderJ @TheLastPersont2 @BBCBreakfast Yep, I've been blocked 🤣🙄!

@ElainepCoates @TheLastPersont2 @BBCBreakfast They don't care. They lie and obfuscate and then block. It might work on the socials, but thankfully there are still enough competent politicians that they see through this guff.

'Our concern is we go from a National Health Service to a national death service' Baroness Finlay, who is opposed to a bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, spoke to #BBCBreakfast as the legislation fails to become law following opposition in the House of Lords bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

If anyone’s interested, in light of CF current speech telling up how great the TIA bill is, here is the view of the Complex Life and Death Decisions group at @KingsCollegeLon about the assisted dying bill. None of these concerns have been addressed 👇