Rhondda Records is with you every day bringing the news ------- that gives a view of world events different to the mainstream media or social media!
Except Sundays - our day of rest.
Image: we're back!
Cuban President congratulates
children: on international day
Havana, June 1st, 1:37pm
(Prensa Latina)
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel
congratulates Cuban children on
International Children's Day.
"We congratulate Cuban girls and boys.... on International
Children's Day. We take care of them and respect them
for what they are: a treasure," the president wrote on the social network X.
"José Martí said with great justice that hope dwells in them,
and that they are the ones who know how to love; in this
last definition --- the Apostle was speaking of nobility,
sincerity --- and an inventiveness in the face of the
world that we adults should always contemplate
and even imitate," he added.
The president also referred to the Cuban government's
commitment to "protect them from so much barbarity
that the world suffers and that today.... stalks us."
"The joy of every Cuban child is sacred,and we will continue
to defend it despite the ferocious blockade ---- with which
imperialism rages," the president concluded.
Image: People hold up a banner as they protest against Israel at the entrance of the International Criminal Court.
Israeli strikes kill 8 in Lebanon
after Trump’s claim of
de-escalation deal
June 2nd, 1:52pm
(PressTV)
Israeli airstrikes killed at least eight people in southern Lebanon
on Tuesday, including a father and his two children, as the Tel
Aviv regime continued its attacks on the country.
The deadly strikes came hours after US President Donald
Trump claimed that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to
stop “all shooting.”
However, the fighting showed little sign of easing, with Israeli
forces carrying out fresh attacks across southern Lebanon
and Hezbollah responding, by retaliatory rocket and drone
attacks against Israeli military positions and settlements
in the occupied territories.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone
strike hit a vehicle on the road linking Marjayoun & Nabatiyeh,
killing a Lebanese dentist, James Karam and.. his 2 children.
In a separate attack, two Lebanese soldiers were wounded
when an Israeli drone targeted an area near Nabatiyeh,
the Lebanese army said.
On Monday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said that Israeli
airstrikes killed six people, including a woman and two
children, in the town of Marwaniyeh in Sidon district.
The attack also wounded a woman, a child and
four other people.
Trump said on Monday that he had spoken with Israeli
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
communicated with Hezbollah
through intermediaries.
He claimed that “there will be no troops going to Beirut,”
referring to Israel’s recent threats of a ground offensive.
“Let’s see how long that lasts – Hopefully it will be for
eternity!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The US president contacted the warring sides after Tehran
warned that a renewed offensive in Beirut would prompt a
response from Iranian armed forces and derail an already
shaky ceasefire with Washington.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington... said the proposed
arrangement would not amount to a full ceasefire, though.
According to the embassy, it would require Israel to refrain
from striking Beirut and its southern suburbs while
Hezbollah would halt attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah rejects partial ceasefire, insists on
comprehensive halt to Israeli aggression:
Lebanese MP
Hezbollah has refused any partial ceasefire proposal and is
demanding a comprehensive halt to hostilities across all
Lebanese territory.
After Trump’s announcement, Netanyahu said Israel would
continue military offensives in southern Lebanon, where
ground forces are pushing toward the Zahrani River.
His statement made no mention...... of any
new ceasefire.
Israeli war minister Israel Katz also said in a post on X
that Netanyahu had informed Trump that Israel would
strike Beirut’s southern suburbs if Hezbollah
continued targeting the northern
occupied territories.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said
the resistance group would support a comprehensive
ceasefire across Lebanon ---- as a precursor to the
withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Lebanese authorities also said they would seek to expand
the ceasefire framework, in talks with Israeli officials in
Washington on Wednesday, which Beirut hopes could
pave the way..... for renewed efforts to end the regime’s attacks on the country.
The latest escalation in Lebanon comes, amid broader
regional tensions stemming from the joint US-Israeli
war against Iran.
Tehran has warned that continued Israeli attacks in
Lebanon, could undermine efforts to reach a wider
diplomatic settlement and restore stability across
the region.
Despite repeated announcements of ceasefires and
de-escalation arrangements, Israeli military
operations in Lebanon have continued.
Hezbollah has maintained that it will continue
retaliatory attacks against the occupied
territories as long as Israeli attacks on
the Lebanese territory persist.
_________________________________________
IRGC Navy: 24 vessels passed through
Strait of Hormuz under its coordination
June 2nd, 1:10pm
(PressTV)
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says 24
vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz over the past
24 hours ------- after obtaining permission and receiving
security support from the force.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the IRGC Navy's public
relations office said that the vessels were able to pass
through the strategic waterway -- after coordination
with the force and under its security protection.
The statement said the “smart control” of the Strait of Hormuz
is being carried out with authority and vigilance, stressing
that "hostile foreign elements" would have no place in
the Persian Gulf and the strategic waterway.
Iran imposed tighter controls on traffic through the
Strait of Hormuz after the illegal and unprovoked
US-Israeli aggression.
The measures were further expanded, after US
President Donald Trump announced an illegal
blockade targeting Iranian vessels and ports.
Tehran says the US measures violate the terms of a
ceasefire brokered by Pakistan that took effect on
April 8 and was later extended by Washington.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly one-fifth of
theworld's oil supply, making it one of the most
strategically important maritime routes.
Restrictions introduced by Iran in April, have
contributed to sharp increases in global oil
and commodity prices.
Iran has said it is prepared to gradually ease
restrictions if it receives firm guarantees
that US-Israeli attacks will not resume
and that sanctions and the blockade
imposed by Washington....
will be lifted.
Iranian officials, however, have indicated that shipping
conditions in the strait are unlikely to return to their
pre-war status, adding that restrictions will
continue to apply to vessels owned by,
or affiliated with, hostile states.
________________________________________
Trump’s claim of talking Netanyahu out
of Lebanon attackshows West role in
Israel atrocities: Iran
June 2nd, 11:05am
(PressTV)
A senior Iranian diplomat has questioned the US’ claims of
preventing a major Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital
Beirut ----- saying the statement exposes Washington’s
direct role in managing Israeli military atrocities
across the region.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs
Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks on his X account
on Tuesday.... hours after US President Donald Trump
claimed: that he had persuaded Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu to cancel a large-scale attack on Beirut.
Gharibabadi said recent developments in Lebanon, Syria,
and occupied al-Quds demonstrate that instability in the
region is not the result of isolated tensions but rather
Israel's actions and the impunity it enjoys.
“The current developments in Lebanon, Syria and occupied
al-Quds have made one reality even clearer: the regional
crisis is not the result of 'sporadic tensions'; it is the
product - of the crimes and impunity of the Zionist
regime, which violates the sovereignty of states,
renders ceasefires meaningless -- & desecrates
Palestinians’ sanctities,” Gharibabadi stressed.
Calling for international action, he emphasized, “The Security
Council must move beyond expressions of concern and
general calls for restraint, and adopt binding punitive
measures against the Zionist regime. International
law ------- is not protected through low-cost and
ineffective condemnations.”
Gharibabadi said Trump's remarks were less a sign of
Washington's commitment to peace but evidence of
its role in Israeli military decisions.
“In this context, the US president’s claim that he dissuaded
Netanyahu from launching a major attack on Beirut is not
a sign of Washington's desire for peace, but a direct
confirmation of the United States' direct role in
managing ------- the aggressions of the Zionist
regime,” the senior Iranian diplomat wrote.
Gharibabadi then posed the central question arising from
Trump's statement, asking, “If the decision to attack the
capital of an independent country can be changed with
a single phone call, the main question is why months
of ceasefire violations, aggression against Lebanon,
the displacement of people, and threats against the
country's sovereignty continued ------ with Western
political and military support.”
His comments came amid renewed tensions over the Lebanon
ceasefire, which forms part of the arrangements linked to
end war between Iran and the US.
Tehran has time and again condemned Israel
for violating the shaking truce, which came
into force on April 8.
Trump said on his Truth Social.. that he had held a “very
productive” conversation with Netanyahu... and that no
forces would be sent to Beirut, while any units already
en route had been ordered to return.
He also claimed that, through senior representatives,
he had held constructive contacts with Lebanon’s
Hezbollah resistance movement .....and that the
group had agreed to halt the exchange
of attacks.
Trump's announcement came after Iran warned
it would not tolerate a new wave of aggression
against Lebanon's capital.
The Islamic Republic has demanded the cessation
of aggression on all of the fronts in the region,
including Lebanon.
Image: the Day of Hristo Botev
Today May 2nd, is
the Day of Hristo Botev,
Bulgarian poet, journalist,
and revolutionary.
Born Hristo Botyov Petkov on 6 January 1848
he died on June 2nd, 1876, participating in
the Bulgarian revolutionary movement.
His father was a teacher and a significant figure of the Bulgarian
National Revival. His mother was born into a modest Kalofer family. Botev had eight siblings, Ana, Petko, Stefan, Kiril,
Tota, Genko, Genko and Boyan.
Botev published a poem titled "Elegy" in 1870, which begins
with "Tell me, tell me, o unhappy people, Who lulls you in
the cradle of slavery?", referring to the inaction of
Bulgarians and their failure to fight against
oppression. Botev -- was a socialist. His
socialism was seemingly influenced
by Russian revolutionaries, and the Paris Commune.
Botev welcomed the ideas about a political and social
revolution promoted by the organisers of the Paris
Commune. In his poem "Why Am I Not?", he
attacked those who stayed dumb.
In 1875, Botev read the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels,
such as the Manifesto of the Communist Party and the first
volume of Capital in Russian translation.
His literary work was influenced by the writers Lord Byron,
Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov. In his poems,
he included themes from Bulgarian folklore.
In 1875, he co-authored his one and only poetry book
Songs and Poems by Botev and Stambolov, with his
close associate, Bulgarian revolutionary poet and
future politician & statesman, Stefan Stambolov.
These poems represent the sentiments of poor people, who had revolutionary ideas and were struggling for their freedom against tyranny. Many of the poems are revolutionary -------- such as "My prayer", "At farewell", "Hajduks", "In the tavern" and "Struggle".
Other poems include, such as the romantic and balladic
"Hadzhi Dimitar" (dedicated to the death of his friend)
and "The hanging of Vasil Levski". Botev's poetry
book ------ is regarded as one of the greatest
achievements in Bulgarian literature.
Botev was born in a room of the Kalofer school where his
parents lived. A little later.... a new school was built in
Kalofer and the family rented a house where Botev
spent the first years of his life. This house was
destroyed ---- during the 1877-1878 Russo-
Turkish War, but in the 1940s....... it was
rebuilt and reborn as the Hristo Botev
National Museum.
In High school in Odessa -- Botev was strictly disciplined by
corporal punishment, and was often absent from lessons,
got into fights with classmates and treated most of his
teachers critically. In 1864, he left boarding school,
living independently in various lodgings.
Although he did not attend school often, Botev spent a lot of
time in various libraries, especially in the Bulgarian library
Yuriy Venelin, which was located in Toshkov's house.
He read mainly Russian authors and was particularly impressed
by Nikolay Chernyshevsky and Ivan Turgenev. He became
familiar with the philologist Victor Grigorovich, whom
he helped in translating Bulgarian folk tunes.
It became apparent in September 1865, that Botev was
failing the gymnasium's third grade and was expelled
for "carelessness," his scholarship was cancelled,
and he was given money..... to travel back to
Ottoman Bulgaria.
But he stayed in Odessa, earning a living through private
instruction and keeping in touch with the city's Polish
population ------ and registered as a volunteer at the
Historical and Philological Faculty of the Imperial
Novorossiya University. Botev -- also taught in
Bessarabia, having written his first poetic
works ..and made strong connections
with both the Russian and Polish
revolutionary movements.
After his return to Kalofer in 1867, During the 11 May
observance of the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril
and Methodius, Botev delivered an impromptu
speech criticising the national movement's
moderation. Police threats - were raised by his speech, but none materialised.
Botev was sent by his father to Odessa once again, to resume
his education. He went to Romania instead. There, he quickly
made contact with Bulgarian émigrés.
In June 1871, he became the editor of the revolutionary
emigrant newspaper Word of the Bulgarian Emigrants
where he began publishing his early poetic works.
Imprisoned for months, due to his close collaboration with
the Russian revolutionaries, Botev started working for
"Liberty" (Svoboda) newspaper - edited by the famed
Bulgarian writer & revolutionary Lyuben Karavelov.
In 1873, he also edited the satirical newspaper "Alarm clock"
(Budilnik), where he published ---- targeting those wealthy
Bulgarians who did not take part in the revolutionary
movement. During the last years of his life, Botev
gave up poetry ----- for revolutionary action.
The Bulgarian revolutionary movement was put in danger
with the taking of Levski by Ottoman authorities at the
end of 1872. At the time, Levski was the indisputable
leader of the Bulgarian insurgency. He, had created
a network of revolutionary committees ---- run by
the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
in Romania, which was tasked with preparing
the Bulgarian revolutionaries --- for a future
general uprising against Ottoman rule.
Levski was brought to trial... sentenced to death by hanging,
and executed on 19 February in 1873. With Levski's death,
the BRCC split into two factions: Botev and supporters,
including Stefan Stambolov and Panayot Hitov backed
the idea - that preparations should be started for an
immediate uprising, while the ''moderates'' led by
Lyuben Karavelov, thought that it was too early.
Botev intended to start an uprising at the first possible moment.
The revolt in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1875 - inspired Botev
and Stambolov to think that a rebellion should start soon in
Ottoman Bulgaria as well. They thought that the greater
the turmoil in the Balkans, the more attention this
would attract among the Great Powers.
In the beginning of August in 1875 Karavelov, already quite ill,
stepped down as president of BRCC, and Botev was elected
as the new president --- believing that the Bulgarian people
were ready for rebellion.
In the April Uprising of 1876, an experienced leader recruited
to command the Liberation of Bulgaria (known as voivoda)
refused to commit, so Botev took command of the
company. Military expertise was provided by
Nikola Voinovski.
According to a letter he wrote before crossing the Danube in May
1876: "I'm in high spirits and my joy is boundless, thinking that
'My Prayer' is going to be fulfilled", referring to the verses in
his poem "My Prayer":
Make powerful this hand of mine
for the rising of the slaves;
I'll join them at the battle-line
that I may find my grave.
Botev devised an ingenious plan for crossing into Ottoman
territory without alerting either the Romanian or Ottoman
authorities. The rebels, disguised as gardeners, boarded
in groups... at various Romanian ports.... the Austro- Hungarian passenger steamship, Radetzky.
When the last group boarded at Bechet the rebels retrieved
their concealed weapons - and seized control of the ship.
The company almost immediately became the focus of bashi-
tactics helped by the still high morale and discipline of
the company. On 18 May - the massing bashi-bazouks
caught up with the company in force, and Botev had
to go to ground on the Milin Kamak Hill some 50 km
from the Danube.
Botev was shot dead at the age of 28 by the Ottomans in
the evening near Vratsa, after his band had battled a
Circassian militia and Ottoman troops ---- at the
outskirts of the Balkan Mountains.
A monument on top of Mount Okolchitsa commemorates
Botev ....and all those who were killed fighting for the independence of Bulgaria.
In 1885, a commemoration committee was founded on the
anniversary of Botev's death on 20 May/1 June. From the
1880s, Bulgarian leftists depicted Botev as a forerunner
of socialist and communist ideas.
Some of the most prominent Bulgarian political leaders of
the newly established country, such as Stefan Stambolov
and Zahari Stoyanov (Botev's first biographer), helped to
to lift up Botev. Stoyanov wrote: "People like Botev, with
their ideals and feelings, are not under the jurisdiction
of the courts, where ordinary people are judged".
Within a decade, Botev became a central figure in the national
pantheon of Bulgaria. His poems gained popularity after the
establishment of the Bulgarian state -- and are part of the
school curriculum, being recited on special occasions
and anniversaries.
In the 1920s, literary historian Boyan Penev called him "a
saint, venerated by all sects and denominations around".
Botev was embraced by the Bulgarian communists before
and after World War II. From the 1920s, the Bulgarian
Communist Party declared 2 June ------- as the
Remembrance Day of Botev's death.
In 1922, left-wing literary critic Georgi Tsanev noted that Botev
was "a defender of the slaves, trumpeter of the revolution, our
first minstrel of communism".
After the 1934 coup detat, Zveno renamed the city of Orhania
to Botevgrad. In 1939, a monument in his honour was placed
in Okolchitsa, with a Russian Orthodox cross at its top, with
the cross being replaced with a pentagram from 1947
to 1991.
The Bulgarian communist authorities established monuments
in his honour in Sofia, Vracha and Kalofer. Schools and
cultural clubs dedicated special weeks to his life and
institutions were renamed after him. On 7 January
1949, the centenary of his birth was celebrated.
On 2 June, the death of Botev and members of his band was
commemorated. The underground radio station run by the
Bulgarian communists in the Soviet Union was named
"Hristo Botev".
The highest peak of the Balkan Mountains
has been named Botev Peak - since 1950.
English translations of all 20 poems by Botev in his poetry book
were made by Thomas Butler, Peter Tempest, and Christopher
Buxton. Football teams, schools and streets bear his name
in Bulgaria.
''There is no power over the person ready to give up
his head in the name of the freedom and the good
of the Motherland.''
''Who falls in the fight for
freedom - does not die.''
Iran --- hails Ireland’s move
to ban --- imports from the
illegal Israeli settlements
May 27th 11:34am
(PressTV)
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs
Kazem Gharibabadi hails Ireland’s decision to ban imports from
illegal Israeli settlements, describing the move as a practical
step toward holding the Israeli regime accountable for its
violations of international law.
“Ireland’s decision to ban imports from the illegal settlements
of the Israeli regime is a commendable step toward turning
international law from rhetoric into action,” Gharibabadi
wrote in a post published on social media platform X
on Wednesday.
He pointed to a 2004 advisory opinion by the International Court
of Justice (ICJ), which stated that the settlements had been
“established in breach of international law” and said the
ruling obliges states not to recognize the illegal status
created by the settlements or support their
continuation in any form.
“Therefore, buying and selling settlement products is not normal
trade, but economic complicity in sustaining occupation and
whitewashing an unlawful situation," he further wrote.
He added that Western governments that present themselves
as defenders of international law must now match words
with action instead of backing down under pressure
from the Israeli regime, certain US lawmakers,
and powerful business lobbies.
The remarks came as several European countries are moving
toward tougher measures against Israeli settlements built
on occupied Palestinian land.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten said
on Friday that Amsterdam would suspend all economic
transactions linked to settlements in the occupied
West Bank and the Golan Heights.
The measure is intended to “prevent Dutch society from
contributing, through our economic activities, to illegal
occupation & the maintenance of illegal settlements,”
Jetten explained.
Meanwhile, a report by Palestine’s Colonization and Wall
Resistance Commission (CWRC) --- has described 2025
as a “year of bloodshed” in the occupied West Bank,
documenting over 23,800 attacks by Israeli forces
and settlers ---- against Palestinians.
In early 2026, Israel's so-called internal security service, Shin
Bet downgraded the classification of settler violence against
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from “terror attacks”
to “serious incidents,” narrowing the definition of terrorism
to cases involving explicit intent to kill and reducing the
priority of investigations.
Since October 7th, 2023, when the Israeli regime launched its genocidal assault on Gaza --- Israeli forces and settlers have
killed at least 1,155 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank
--- wounded nearly 11,750 others, and abducted around
22,000 people, according to official figures.
Image: No thanks to Israeli goods App
The world and her daughter are calling for a boycott of the genocidal colonial apartheid state of Israel.
Place yourself on the right side of joy and sorrow by joining the world's boycott - say ''no'' to evil!
Keir Hardie - Britain's first Labour MP - opposedWorld War One.
His namesake is stammering his way in the opposite direction.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
ROGER WATERS TO MUSICIANS:- "BOYCOTT ISRAEL"
Roger Waters formerly of Pink Floyd, in an open letter, calls on his fellow musicians --- to boycott the Zionist Israeli regime and follow the example of the cultural boycott against the ex S. African Apartheid regime.
“Given the inability or unwillingness of our governments [to act] …. I write to you now, my brothers and sisters … to ask you to join with me, & thousands of other artists around the world, to declare a cultural boycott on Israel,” Roger Waters says in his letter.
Waters says the Zionist regime has been found guilty of major breaches of human rights and international law by international organizations, UN officials and the International Court of Justice.
He touches on two such cases, saying the regime has been identified as perpetrating the “crime of Apartheid”, including in a statement on March 9th, 2012 by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the “crime of ethnic cleansing” including in East Jerusalem (al-Quds).
Waters adds that he has been a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Israeli regime’s occupation of the Palestinian lands and Tel Aviv’s violations of Palestinian human rights for 7 years, and now wants other musicians to also join the anti-Israeli front.
“Please join me and all our brothers and sisters in global civil society in proclaiming our rejection of Apartheid in Israel & occupied Palestine, by pledging not to perform or exhibit in Israel or accept any award or funding from any institution linked to the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights.”
The former Pink Floyd Musician also says he has recently faced a boycott by the US media after his November 29th, 2012 address at the UN on behalf of the Russell Tribunal.
In the address, he sought accountability for the Zionist regime’s violations of the international law and the lack of United Nations resolve that prevents the Palestinian people from achieving their inalienable rights, especially the right of self-determination.
____________________
AT THE FACTORY
Tickets from
www.wegottickets.com/thefactory
www.ticketweb.co.uk
browse venues in Wales
www.ticketlineuk.com
02920 230130
Cash tickets from:
The Factory, Porth Instrumental Music, Penygraig Spillers Records, Cardiff
Indulge in a delicious cake and a cup of tea while enjoying music and sing-along songs from fantastic Welsh musicians.
Ticket information:
The Cultural Services Booking & Information Line:
08000 147 111 or book online at
www.rct-arts.co.ukÂÂ
*************************************************
Mid Rhondda Modelling Club...
7pm - 9pm
Tonyrefail Comprehensive School Mid Rhondda Modelling Club
has been running for over 30 years.
We meet on a regular basis
& enjoy making models for display.
We encourage both Gentlemen
and Ladies to attend, and also young people aged 12+.
However, Young people under 16, must be accompanied by an adult.
Ticket information
£1 contribution every week. Under 16's free
Telephone Mr. Davies on 01443 686658
************************************************
Comedy In The Laughter Lounge
The Park & Dare Theatre, Treorchy.
COMEDY IN THE LAUGHTER LOUNGE
Join us once a month in the intimate setting of the Laughter Lounge for some top notch comedy with some of the biggest and brightest rising comedians on the circuit.
Laugh? You'll snort like a pig!
Hilarious - TimeOut.
www.rct-arts.co.uk
Rhondda Records exists to express the Rhondda's vision --- when it was confident, powerful, caring, and socialist.
A Rhondda very aware of the media's poisonous tricks -- how they con working class people into attacking each other, or racial groups, or, often, even their best allies and friends... instead of seeing their real enemies:--- an elite who hate the very idea that working people can think, create, or achieve a fairer society.
Thatcher said her proudest achievement was Blair and New Labour - who parachuted in careerists and expenses fiddlers - to stop local Labour members having a say, and who made genuine socialist MPs leave the Labour party in disgust and many members and voters to despair... and the young to stop voting.
Jeremy Corbyn was always attacked because he was trying to reverse all that New Labour corruption --- that's why membership was flooding in all over the UK.
______________________________________
Get Involved!
– If you feel you’ve been ‘purged’, take this online survey:
– Request all your own data that the Labour Party holds on you:
http://www.labour.org.uk/pages/privacy
_______________________________________
IF - YOU THINK you HAVE BEEN UNFAIRLY BARRED:
“Any member who is suspended & intends to appeal the decision should throw in a ‘Subject Access Request in accordance with the Data Protection Act’ --- for ALL data that the Labour Party hold on them.
The Labour Party are Data Controllers and therefore have to, by law, provide you with all material/information they hold on you.”
If anyone is in contact with anyone who was barred from voting --- please can you pass this info on:
The Labour leadership election was under the jurisdiction of the electoral reform services.
If you were unfairly deprived of your vote you can call them on 0208 365 8909 and lodge your complaint, and inform them of your Data Protection request.
https://www.electoralreform.co.uk
The notification letters barring new members did not give a clear reason, or information on how to appeal, so Vox Political suggests that anyone in this situation, could also contact Liz Davies here: http://www.whycantivote.com
She is a barrister --- who can advise members on what to do.
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PONCY LABOUR MPS PROBLEM?
A huge drop in working-class Labour MPs, caused a massive drop in support among voters with similar backgrounds, reveals research seeking to explain why support has dwindled in the party’s heartlands.
The study says past leaders like Kinnock and Blair made a concerted effort to pick “more and more middle-class candidates to run for office, during the 80s and 90s, as part of an effort to rebrand” -- which had initial successes at the ballot box.
But this “conscious electoral strategy” stored up problems, as working-class voters who initially, just didn’t vote in response, now seek an alternative.
The solution?Trust each constituency to put forward its own candidates, and don't impose ‘party-approved’ choices who can't do the job.
Now, unfortunately, there are "entryist" MPs who, for decades, have been groomed by CIA cold war relic organisations -- like the Atlantic Council -- and are now trying to misdirect the Labour Party towards cuts, a militarised police, and a US war agenda... - and their anti-Corbyn slant is hobbling Labour.
‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guide to Reselection and Democratic Accountability by Eric Sim, excellent free advice here:
http://novaramedia.com/2016/07/13/how-can-i- deselect-my-labour-mp-a-short-guide-to- reselection-and-democratic-accountability/ CHRIS BRYANT - SUPPORT THE MEMBERS' LEADERSHIP CHOICE & POLICIES - OR GO!
Chris Bryant, the Rhondda's dodgy MP, was on TV -- as soon as the PLP coup started -- telling us that Jeremy MUST go, because it was the ONLY way to act in the Labour Party's interest...
Chris Bryant's voting record: from TheyWorkForYou.com
On Tuition Fees:
On 27 Jan 2004: Chris Bryant voted in favour of university tuition fees increasing from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees to increase from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted for the introduction of variable university tuition fees (top-up fees) of up to £3,000 per year in place of the previous fixed fee of £1,250 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees to increase from £1,125 per year to up to £3,000 per year, and to make other changes to higher education funding and regulation arrangements.
On 14 Sep 2004: Chris Bryant voted against: the immediate abolition of all tuition fees, the re-introduction of maintenance grants of up to £2,000 for students from low-income homes, and changes to the country's higher education system.
On 14 Sep 2004: Chris Bryant voted to reject the Liberal Democrat policy of abolition of tuition fees.
On 25 May 2016: Chris Bryant was absent for a vote on Queen's Speech - Forcing Schools to Become Academies - Further Rises in University Tuition Fees
On Human Rights:
Consistently voted for introducing ID cards
Almost always voted for requiring the mass retention of information about communications
Generally voted for mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities
On the Environment:
Generally voted against greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas
On Special Interests:
Almost always voted against limits on success fees paid to lawyers in no-win no fee cases
Generally voted against a statutory register of lobbyists
On War or Peace:
Generally voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
Consistently voted for the Iraq war
Consistently voted against an investigation into the Iraq war
Generally voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system
On 2 Dec 2015: Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria [without UN authorisation]
On 2 Dec 2015: Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria [without UN authorisation]
On Independence:
Generally voted for more EU integration
____________________________
Chris Bryant Labour MP From Wikipedia
(aka 1962-1986: Mr Christopher John Bryant 1986-1991: The Reverend Christopher John Bryant, 1991-2001: Mr Christopher John Bryant, 2001-: Mr Christopher John Bryant MP.)
Born in Cardiff, to a Scottish mother & a Welsh father, Bryant grew up in Cardiff, Wales (where his father worked for 5 years), and Cheltenham.
He was educated at Cheltenham College, an independent school for boys in the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, where he was captain of the school swimming team, and Mansfield College at the University of Oxford, where he graduated in 1983, with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English. This was later promoted to a Master of Arts degree (MA (Oxon)), as per tradition.
After completing his first degree, Bryant began training to be a priest in the Church of England at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, in Oxfordshire. There, he obtained a degree in theology.
Although a member of the Conservative Party, and an elected office-holder in the Oxford University Conservative Association, he joined the Labour Party in 1986, after leaving Oxford.
He was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in 1987. He served as a Curate at the Church of All Saints, High Wycombe, from 1986 to 1989; then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough, as well as travelling in Latin America.
In 1991 Bryant left the ordained ministry, after deciding that being gay and being a priest, were incompatible. Statements made by Richard Harries, then Bishop of Oxford, also influenced his decision.
After leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant worked as the election agent to the Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party, where he helped Frank Dobson hold his seat in the 1992 general election.
From 1993, he was Local Government officer for the Labour Party; he lived in Hackney and was elected to Hackney Borough Council in 1993, serving until 1998. He became Chair of the Christian Socialist Movement.
He is both a member of the Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. From 1994 to 1996 he was London manager of the leader-grooming "charity", Common Purpose.
He was Labour candidate for Wycombe, in the 1997 general election (he lost by 2,370 votes), and Head of European Affairs for the BBC, from 1998.
His selection for the very safe Labour seat of Rhondda, South Wales in 2000, shocked many people given Bryant's background – gay, an ex- Anglican vicar, and someone who was a Tory, while studying at Oxford, and a member now, of the Henry Jackson Society 'think tank' --- described by The Guardian newspaper as 'neoconservative'. It is pro-US, pro-NATO and pro-military intervention, as well as being fundamentally anti-socialist.
Fifty-two people applied for the candidature and a local councillor was hot favourite to win, before Bryant was parachuted in.
In 2004, a photograph of Mr Bryant in his underpants, which he had posted to a gay dating website, was published in 'papers.
When an interviewer suggested he was a 'disgrace to the Rhondda', he replied: "They can't get rid of me."
His pay, allowances and some expenses:
The basic annual salary for an MP, from April 1st, 2016 is £74,962. MPs also get expenses: to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, having some- where to live in London, plus, in their constituency and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.
His MP's expenses story:
Chris Bryant changed second home twice to claim £20,000: the deputy leader of the House of Commons, "flipped" his second home twice, in 2 years, allowing him to claim almost £20,000 for renovations and fees.
Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda, split over £92,000 of expenses between 3 properties in Wales and London --- within five years.
In 2004, he attempted to claim £58,000 to overhaul his second home in Wales, after allegedly complaining that properties in his constituency were "terrace or mine owners' houses".
Mr Bryant, a former Church of England clergyman, wanted the money for a new bathroom & kitchen, and to demolish his conservatory. He'd bought the detached house for £97,500, under a year earlier.
He submitted a claim to the Commons fees office for £58,493.26 --- almost 3 times the annual maximum. He noted that the claim exceeded his allowance.
His alleged justification was disclosed... in correspondence between Commons officials. By email, an official wrote: "He had problems finding a suitable property because in the Rhondda there is a choice mainly of terraced property or mine owners' houses." When approached by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Bryant said: "I have never said or thought anything of the sort".
In all, he successfully claimed over £13,000 for renovations, repairs & appliances, in 2004. Along with other bills, his annual claim was £20,902.
In April 2005, he flipped his expenses to his flat in west London, which he bought for £400,000 in April 2002. He also claimed £630 a month for mortgage interest, along with other bills. After claiming over £3,600 over 3 months, he sold the flat in July 2005 for £477,000.
Mr Bryant used his profits to buy a more expensive flat in west London, which was valued at £670,000. He immediately flipped his second home expenses there, claiming almost £6,400 in stamp duty, legal fees and mortgage fees, incurred in the purchase.
He then began claiming interest of £1,000 a month on the mortgage. He also claimed a further £6,000 a year for the flat's service charge and ground rent.
In all, he claimed £92, 415 in second home expenses, from 2004 to 2009.
Mr Bryant said at the time: "I moved flat in London, so as to be closer to Parliament."
Research by Channel 4 News in 2015 found that at least 46 MPs had this kind of system in place – a move one Labour backbencher described as “a new fiddle”. Channel 4 reported then:
“Our investigation found that many of the MPs bought their London properties with the help of the taxpayer, when a previous expenses system allowed them to claim back mortgage payments. But when those claims were banned, following the expenses scandal, they switched to letting out their properties, in some cases for up to £3,000 a month. They then started claiming expenses for rent and hotels in the capital.”
Among those identified was Chris Bryant, shadow leader of the House of Commons. He had already bought a penthouse in London back in 2005 and claimed around £1,000 a month in mortgage claims under the old system.
But after the expenses scandal, he started renting the property out. It’s since been advertised by estate agents as having a private lift and a porter, with rent at about £3,000 a month. Meanwhile, Bryant moved into a new flat;- claiming his own rent on expenses.
Image: Russian scientists and Scottish ones
Russian/Scottish scientists hail long-range secure quantum communication system.
A group of scientists from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has developed a new approach to constructing quantum communication systems for secure data exchange.
The experimental device based on the results of the research is capable of transmitting single-photon quantum signals across distances of 250 klmtrs or more, which is on par with its cutting edge analogues, the ITMO press-service says.
"Now researchers are on a mission -- to create a fully-fledged quantum cryptographic system, that will generate & distribute quantum keys and transmit useful data simultaneously", ITMO says.
Information security is becoming more and more of a critical issue not only for large companies, banks and defense enterprises but even for small businesses and individual users.
But the data encryption algorithms we currently use for protecting our data are imperfect - in the long-term, their logic can be cracked. Regardless of how complex and intricate the algorithm is, getting around it, is just a matter of time.
Unlike algorithm-based encryption, systems that protect information, by making use of fundamental laws of quantum physics, can make data transmission totally immune to hacker attacks, in the future.
Information in a quantum channel is carried by single photons that change irreversibly if an eavesdropper tries to intercept them. The legitimate users will instantly know about any kind of intervention.
Researchers at the Quantum Information Centre of the International Institute of Photonics and Optical Information Technology at ITMO Uni., Russia, along with their colleagues from the Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, have devised a new way to generate and distribute, quantum bits.
This makes it possible to share quantum signals --- via optical fibres --- 250 kilometres in distance.
"To transmit quantum signals, we use the so- called side frequencies," says Artur Gleim, head of the Quantum Information Centre, at ITMO University,
"This unique approach gives us a number of advantages -- such as a considerable simplification of the device architecture and the large pass-through capacity of the quantum channel. In terms of bit rate and operating distances, our system is comparable to absolute champions in the field of quantum communications."
According to Robert Collins, research associate at the Institute of Photonics & Quantum Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, and one of the authors of the study, this may become a pivotal point for the whole field of quantum communication and cryptography:
"Down the track, this new approach can enable smooth coexistence of numerous data streams with different wavelengths in one single optical cable. On top of it, these quantum streams can be fed into the already existing fibre optic lines --- along with conventional communications."
The research paper is published in the Optics Express journal.
Scottish universities are to be congratulated for their strong & growing links with Chinese and Russian universities....
What a shame, that Wales is lying low --- with academics too scared to break from US military research.
Image: BRICS
Image: March 26 London anti cuts demo
KILLING THE ELDERLY BY CLOSING CARE HOMES
Did you know that each time a local authority
closes a care home for the elderly, within 8
months, around half the residents are dead?
Campaigners liken the cuts and their effect to euthanasia of the UK's elderly. What to do?
We can start by urging our MPs to sign EDM 2251:
EDM 2251: The contents
This House notes with deep concern the worsening crisis for elderly care as growing numbers of local authority and private care homes face closure
Acknowledges concerns that the loss of elderly people's care homes causes fear, anxiety and, in many cases, a higher mortality rate, when vulnerable, elderly people are forced to leave their homes
Further notes that the Southern Cross crisis will increase needs for local authority care
And therefore calls on the government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths after closures, of local authority care homes, and impose a moratorium on the closure of local authority care homes, until that inquiry publishes its results, to ensure that vulnerable, elderly people's lives are not put at further risk.
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MAKING THE CONNECTION IN WALES
Households across three more English areas will be able to access superfast broadband in the latest phase of a Government scheme to connect rural homes and businesses.
The £50 million funding package for Devon and Somerset (£30 million), Norfolk (£15 million) and Wiltshire (£4 million) will aid the roll- out of superfast broadband services unable to be reached by the market alone.
Areas will also receive financial support from their local authorities and private investors, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport says.
So it's Broadband Heaven for England...
and crapola for Wales' broadband - the
slowest, worst Broadband in the UK !!!
Lib Dems in Scotland might have received a pummeling for Clegg and his betrayals, yet, in Scotland, their campaign centred on it becoming the "most connected country in Europe," to massively boost their economy.
In Wales, which political party is now willing to put into practice scientists' recommendations: that Wales' hilly topography requires establishing
free 'wireless' broadband?
It could connect the people of Rhondda and the world, boosting Wales' economic regeneration, like no other move.Wireless technology is now supplying free broadband to an entire island off New Zealand's coast.
Come on; if New Zealand can do it - so can we !!!
Image: China's rapeseed blossoms this Spring.
Western China has embraced "green-mode development" - with painful changes from which, Wales could well learn.
Eastern China has seen fast growth and urban mess. The West, a mining and agricultural area, has not.
Xi'an Chan-ba Ecological District, is a model for reclaiming old mining areas.
It took six hard years, but now Xi'an is showing the world how best to change, by turning a badly polluted rubbish landfill site, into an all new environment-friendly development.
As China's economic focus moves from east to west, it's using the lessons learned during 30 or more years of rapid industrial development.
The green way for China's west, is to combine green industrialization & green urbanization.
The western region's strategy is to adopt effective energy-saving and environmental protection technologies... AND to extend its industry through science and products unique to China's West, together with strong vertical growth in agriculture and all its ancilliary economic & professional spin-offs.
In undertaking this industrial revolution, the western region will keep a sharp eye out - to avoid all polluting non-sustainable industries.
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A BIG DROP OF HONEY !!!
Spring is beekeeping and honey-processing season in Yunnan province, in China.
Waves of bees flit across vast fields of flowers.
Local beekeepers and many from other places, such as Sichuan and Fujian provinces - set up their base in tents among the rapeseed farms.
The 430,000 hectares of rapeseed blooms in Luoping attract myriads of bees, which produce 15 - 20 million tons of honey a year.
Local people now look to brand their county as a honey production base & increase sales to outside markets.
Luoping Tianyuanmiyu Bee Industry Co Chair, Zhu Hongkun, founded his enterprise in 2009.
It mainly produces honey, propolis and propolis powder.
His company works with 270 plus beekeepers, who each earn 80,000 yuan a year on average.
Some earn 200,000 yuan annually, Zhu says.
Who says beauty endowed by nature isn't worth a fortune?
The whole of the uplands of south Wales could be as beautiful & productive, if used wisely!
Image: retirement China style
CHINA's PREMIER POINTS WAY FORWARD
As the Tories threaten a "bonfire of the Quangos", perhaps Wales should take note. Now extracting all our mineral wealth has been stopped (apart from sand and rock) we find ourselves "in" the 1st World of the UK, but with a 3rd World economy, only just kept going by quangos which promise much... but deliver little... and rely on weak public support.
We could WAKE UP & understand that we either do something, or stay as begging bowl cases.
China's premier points the way forward for Wales:
"Industrial restructuring is the key... only by developing energy-efficient, indigenous innovative and high value added products can our companies and economy, achieve sustainable development."
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WHILE FRANCE, GREECE, IRELAND, ETC, STRUGGLE TO STOP THE PENSION AGE RISING HIGHER AND HIGHER...
An online survey on qq.com, a popular Chinese news portal, finds that 91% of its over 800,000 respondents, are against raising the current official Chinese retirement age.
745,123 of those surveyed say they oppose raising retirement ages -- 72,456 support it.
China's scholars & the public have been debating whether to raise the retirement age, for the past few years, but the issue rose to prominence after remarks by an official.
Wang Xiaochu, the official vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security, said at a press conference that the government was "studying the matter"...
The retirement age in China is generally set at 60 for men and 50-55 for women.
Wow! Bet you didn't know that !!!
Image: unemployment in Wales
FARMING AND SCIENCE COULD REGENERATE WALES
A new UN General Assembly report warns "vast areas" of cultivated land are lost each year, and that this could lead to unrest.
The report says up to 30 million hectares, an area the size of Italy, is lost each year to environmental degradation, industry & urbanization - the growth of cities - and all because of speculative building and greed.
The UN special rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, gives the example of eastern Africa, where the amount of cultivated land has declined by half --- in just one generation! "
As rural populations grow and competition with large industrial units increases, plots cultivated by smallholders are shrinking year after year," says De Schutter.
"Farmers are often relegated to soils that are arid, hilly or without irrigation."
The UN officer also mentions India as another example, where the average landholding fell from 2.6 hectares in 1960 to 1.4 hectares in 2000. A cut of nearly half in 40 years!
He says 500 million small farmers suffer from hunger, partly because their right to land is being violated. The expert warns of the devastating consequences, as foreign investors compete for larger and larger areas of the world's land for "their" agriculture.
Rhondda Records says Wales could rebuild its new economy by basing it on a fresh approach to high-value added products, using science and agriculture... such as the Altzeim project in Gwent.