Happy Friday!

Finally Chelsea won something and qualified for Champions League. Of course Chelsea Women did the domestic treble this season (at some point we’ll crack Europe as well). And I will take all of that!

Here are this weeks links…

Nigel Farage accused of ‘fantasy promises’ with expensive policy pledges. I’m always astounded that anyone believes anything Farage says…

The real story isn’t young men supposedly voting far right. It’s what young women are up to

A great prize, but a great risk: why we all need the nationalised South Western Railway to work

Tom Friedman: Will Israel’s War Ever End? I don’t agree with much of what Tom Friedman says about Israel’s attitude to what’s happening in Gaza. I think there will be no peace until they start to think of Palestinians as actual people. What’s happening now though, it’s a genocide. Even the way Friedman mentions the stench of decaying bodies in Gaza and I can’t help but think about how people described the smell at Auschwitz. Israel is a nation founded on terrorism, go and look up the Stern Gang. In trying to prevent the Holocaust, Israel has replicated it, but it’s citizens are the perpetrators not the victims. Hamas are terrorists but they are not the only ones, go and look at what the settlers are doing in the West Bank right now, with the support of the Israeli government. Doesn’t make what they are doing right but view it in all its context. Until both sides start to view each other as people with justified positions and work towards compromise, the war will never end.

‘My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six’: Alan Alda on childhood, marriage and 60 years of stardom. I love Alan Alda and this piece just confirms my view that he is a delight!

Why does Elon Musk love this socialist sci-fi series? This is like when David Cameron said his favourite song was Eton Rifles. Completely and utterly missing the point. Also I’m going to have to re-read the Culture novels. But if sci-fi isn’t your thing, Iain M. Banks dropped the ‘M’ and wrote other books, The Crow Road is a particular favourite of mine…