(Text-only) Rhondda Records Home Page

Fidel, intellectuality... and

culture mark day in Cuba

Havana, August 6th, 12:55pm

(Prensa Latina)

In commemoration of its 65th anniversary, the Union of Writers

and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) today promotes a day where the

tribute to Commander in Chief Fidel Castro and the footprint

of both in the national culture --- stands out.

Music, visual arts, book presentations, talks and panels are some of

the initiatives that will celebrate the birth of the organization and

the centennial of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution

from August 17 to 22.

According to the institution published on its Facebook page, the

national headquarters located in El Vedado will be the main

stage of the activities, although the programming will be

extended to all provinces.

In each territory, an agenda has been conceived, focused on "the

history of the organization, the recognition of its founders and

the dialogue between generations of creators."

With this, UNEAC will seek to bear witness to its mark on the

cultural life of the country, through interviews with writers

and artists, evocations of foundational moments and

reflections on the validity of the policy born from

Words to the Intellectuals, as the speech given

by Fidel in June 1961, is called.

The day is part of the Faithful Art campaign, promoted by the

organization, and is enriched by the presence of renowned

members and intellectuals, also... with the tribute --- of the

National Ballet of Cuba & the National Folkloric Ensemble.

Complementing these proposals is the inauguration of the

exhibition Portraits, through which students from the San

Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts will recreate renowned

personalities of culture, many of them founders

of UNEAC.

Other activities will evoke Fidel's link with Cuban intellectuals,

the importance he gave to culture and the role played by

UNEAC in the construction of the Revolution.

"The program will give wide visibility to visual arts exhibitions,

book presentations, concerts, artistic tours of communities,

gatherings, literary clubs, spaces for debate, community

projects and tributes to prominent personalities of

Cuban culture."

The work of young and consecrated figures will be promoted,

tribute will be paid to the memory of deceased artists and

there will be recognition "to those who have contributed

for decades to the prestige of UNEAC in each province."

With this display of events throughout the country, it is intended to

narrate "the living history of an organization that, at 65 years old,

continues to defend artistic creation, critical thinking, national

identity - & the commitment of intellectuals to Cuban society."

_____________________________________________________________

Axios: US companies have not signed

ONE single oil deal with Venezuela

August 3rd, 2:56pm

(Pravda.EN)

US companies -- have not concluded a single oil deal

with Venezuela in 8 months, despite Washington’s

statements about the recovery of the industry.

This is reported by the Axios portal.

According to the newspaper, after statements by US

President Donald Trump that US companies would

be able to ''quickly restore'' the Venezuelan oil

industry, not a single deal was concluded.

Image: People hold up a banner as they protest against Israel at the entrance of the International Criminal Court.

Iranian strikes leave hundreds of US

troops ...with lasting brain injuries

August 6th, 6:53pm

(PressTV)

Hundreds of US troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI)

in Iranian missile and drone strikes since Washington launched

its war on Iran, highlighting the mounting physical cost of the

US aggression and the potentially lasting consequences

for US forces.

Nearly 700 US troops have been wounded in Iranian missile and

drone attacks on US bases since Washington’s aggression

against Iran escalated, according to US military officials.

Most were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries and

returned to duty after treatment, the Associated

Press reported.

The Pentagon has described most of the injuries sustained over a

two-week period as “minor concussions.” But medical experts

warn that an apparently mild concussion can develop into

persistent neurological problems, including headaches,

dizziness, memory loss, difficulty concentrating and

chronic fatigue.

Doctors say there is currently no reliable way to determine

immediately which blast injuries will result in lasting

complications. They are also.. continuing to study

how powerful explosions can damage the brain

even without a direct blow to the head.

The widespread use of Iranian missiles and drones has heightened

concern within the US military, as explosions can occur in close

proximity to US troops, increasing the risk of blast-related

brain injuries.

The scale of the injuries has revived concerns that traumatic brain

injury could once again become a major legacy of a US war, as it

did during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 500,000 US soldiers were diagnosed with TBIs

between 2000 and 2025, according to US military data.

The consequences can persist for years. Former Marine Joe Shearer

told the AP that two explosions he experienced during his 2005

deployment to Iraq were only recently diagnosed as traumatic

brain injuries. He continues to suffer from migraines,

dizziness, vertigo, light sensitivity and

memory loss.

The latest injuries have also prompted scrutiny of the treatment

available to US troops. Democrat lawmakers... are seeking an

investigation into medical care provided to service members

wounded in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait that killed six

US soldiers, earlier in the war.

Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin said some injured US troops

reported waiting weeks for screening or specialized treatment

for traumatic brain injuries.

The injuries underscore the growing cost of Washington’s war on

Iran, with Iranian missile and drone strikes inflicting damage on

US forces that could extend well beyond the battlefield and

persist long after the war ends.

Iranian retaliatory attacks have killed several US personnel, and

damaged at least 20 US military sites since the start of the US-

Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Fresh reports indicate that the US Army ......has burned through

a significant portion of its global stockpile of highly accurate

long-range missiles during its five-month war of aggression

against Iran.

The depletion of key munitions.. has reportedly fueled growing

frustration within the Trump administration, with US President

Donald Trump confronting Secretary of War Pete Hegseth

over shortages of critical weapons and the apparent

strain on Washington’s military capabilities.

According to a report published by The Washington Post on

Wednesday, Trump confronted Hegseth at Camp David

last Friday, demanding an explanation for why he had

allegedly been given an “inaccurate picture” of US

military capabilities.

___________________________________________________

Sana’a launches large-scale missile,

drone operation against Saudi-

backed forces in Yemen

August 6th, 5:30pm

(PressTV)

Sana'a has carried out a large-scale missile and drone operation

targeting gathering points and military camps of Saudi-backed

mercenaries in the provinces of Marib and Hadramawt, the

spokesperson for Yemen's Armed Forces says.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a statement on Thursday

that the operation was launched after Yemeni forces monitored

extensive military movements and troop concentrations by

Saudi-backed forces, which were preparing to launch an

offensive against areas under Ansarallah's control.

According to the statement, military positions in the areas of

al-Ruwaik, al-Abr, al-Thaniyah, as well as several camps

belonging to the so-called "First Brigade" and "Third

Readiness Brigade," were struck with multiple

ballistic missiles and drones.

Saree said the operation left hundreds of

Saudi-backed forces dead ....or injured.

He also said several military camps, weapons depots,

troop assembly points, and military vehicles in the

al-Wadiah area in eastern Yemen were destroyed.

The statement warned Saudi Arabia that any new

military action ....would be met with a reciprocal

response.

The Yemeni Armed Forces also called on Yemeni forces

aligned with Riyadh to withdraw from their positions

before any new confrontation.

Mohammed Shouka, a member of Ansarallah's Political

Bureau, said the operation was a preemptive measure

carried out after monitoring preparations by Saudi

forces and their allies to launch an attack o

n Sana'a.

Prior to the release of the statement, media reports said

that at least 30 members of the Saudi mercenaries

were killed in missile strikes on military camps

in the provinces of Marib and Hadramawt.

The escalation follows Saudi airstrikes on Sana’a International

Airport last month .....to halt humanitarian flights, carrying

patients and stranded civilians.

In response, Yemeni forces --- struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha

International Airport with ballistic missiles and drones.

They also announced a naval blockade on Saudi

Arabia ---- to end the 12-year Saudi-led siege.

President of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat

has said the only path to ending the ongoing hostilities and

establishing peace is an unconditional halt to Saudi

Arabia’s blockade and aggression against

the Arab country.

“Should the aggression persist and the siege is not lifted, any

dialogue and agreement will be nothing but an illusion and

a mirage,” Mashat warned recently.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies imposed the blockade on Yemen

as part of a full-scale military campaign launched on March 26,

2015, with military, political, and logistical backing from the

United States and other Western countries.

The war went on to result in the deaths of tens of thousands of

Yemenis, but failed to achieve its stated objective of restoring

Yemen’s former Riyadh-backed regime to power.

The former regime had fled the country amid political uncertainty,

after which Ansarullah, Yemen’s popular resistance movement,

assumed responsibility for administering state affairs.

The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday, the

appointment of Major General Abdullah al-Shehri.... as

commander of the Multinational Maritime Defense

Alliance to “secure freedom of navigation”

in the Red Sea.

The Yemeni Armed Forces announced on Wednesday ----- that it had

struck the Saudi oil tanker Wafa with ballistic missiles off Yanbu in

the northern Red Sea -- the eighth Saudi tanker targeted since the

blockade began on 22 July. Another 29 tankers have turned back

from the Bab el-Mandab Strait.

_________________________________

Ben-Gvir raids Naqab prison,

illegally seizes clothes,

and Qurans

August 6th, 12:19pm

(Al Mayadeen English)

Prisoners' Media Office said prison staff seized copies

of the Quran during the raid, leaving ..only one copy

per section, each of which holds roughly 15 cells.

Israeli Police Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, raided Naqab Prison

and ordered guards to illegally seize the remaining clothes

belonging to Palestinian detainees, the Prisoners' Media

Office said in a statement on Thursday.

Following the sweep, detainees are left

only the bare minimum of clothing.

The Prisoners' Media Office said conditions at Naqab Prison

continue to worsen, citing ongoing shortages of food and

hygiene supplies alongside harsher punitive measures

and repeated abuses.

The office said the situation puts hundreds of detainees'

lives at risk and called for urgent action to stop

the violations.

Israeli prisons currently hold around 9,500 Palestinian

detainees, including 94 women and over 350 children.

Part of a broader pattern

Thursday's raid extends restrictions Ben-Gvir has imposed

on Palestinian prisoners since taking office in late 2022,

which rights groups say have included denying

prisoners basic rights, starvation, medical

neglect, torture and prolonged isolation.

Similarly, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and

Ex-Detainees Affairs said this week, that women held

at Damon Prison face ongoing medical neglect and

poor conditions. Detainee Amna Suweilem, 55,

has gone without adequate treatment for a

torn shoulder tendon, thyroid disease

and an abdominal hernia --- since

her arrest in November 2025.

Another detainee, Leila Khalil, 22, held in isolation since June,

said food at the prison is insufficient in both quality and

quantity, and that women are allowed out of their cells

for only one hour a day, leaving little time for basic

hygiene, including showers.

The Prisoners' Information Office has separately warned that

several ill women at Damon Prison, including detainees

being treated for cancer and hepatitis, face growing

health risks without proper medical care, and has

called on the Red Cross and international rights

organizations to intervene.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in

northern Gaza, has faced similar treatment since his detention.

The Prisoners' Information Office said he sustained fractured

ribs after Israeli guards assaulted him at Rakevet prison,

calling July 27 the most difficult day of his detention.

Palestinian rights groups have documented a rise in abuses against

detainees ------- since "Israel's" war on Gaza began in October 2023,

including overcrowding, restricted family visits, limited access to

lawyers, inadequate food and delayed or denied medical care.

Human rights organizations --- continue to press international

bodies to investigate these reports and enforce compliance

with international humanitarian law.

Source: Prisoners' Media Office

___________________________________

11 injured in Qalandia IOF raid,

settlers torch homes

in Masafer Yatta

August 6th, 9:33am

(Al Mayadeen English)

Israeli occupation forces raided Qalandiya, Nablus, Jenin

and Tulkarm as settlers set Palestinian homes ablaze

in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil.

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) --- raided multiple areas across the

occupied West Bank early on Thursday, while settlers attacked

Palestinian homes and set fires in Masafer Yatta, south of

al-Khalil, as part of a broader military escalation

ordered by the Israeli regime.

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed 11 Palestinians were

injured in assaults by occupation forces during an IOF raid in

Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied al-Quds, where

soldiers beat several residents, including Mohammad

Jamal Ammar, before releasing him.

Red Crescent crews transported eight beating victims to hospital,

and separately evacuated five patients from the camp ...despite

continued Israeli obstruction of ambulance and rescue teams.

Local Palestinian sources said occupation forces also raided Airport

Road near the camp, fired tear gas, detained two Palestinians, and

obstructed journalists covering the raid.

In a parallel development, confrontations broke out - in the village of

Awarta, southeast of Nablus, where one young man was wounded

by live Israeli fire and another was beaten by soldiers. In eastern

Beit Furik, occupation forces beat residents --- before storming

the town and raiding a home and a commercial property.

Al-Khalil and Ramallah:
Settler arson attack

South of al-Khalil, settlers attacked Palestinian homes in

Khirbet al-Tuba, in Masafer Yatta, setting several ablaze.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said five Palestinians,

including women and children, were injured in

the attack.

Further north, in the al-Qarna area of Turmus Ayya, near

Ramallah, local youths confronted settlers who were

attacking Palestinian homes in the area.

Incursions continue
in Jenin, Tulkarm

Meanwhile, in northern West Bank, in Jenin governorate,

occupation forces stormed the village of Sir, east of the

city, raided a home in al-Mutilla, and infiltrated Jenin's

al-Zahraa neighbourhood, where they assaulted a

young man.

In Tulkarm, an Israeli military vehicle rammed a Palestinian car

on Pharaoh Street, south of the city. Occupation forces also

raided the Wadi al-Sheikh area --- near al-Arroub refugee

camp, north of al-Khalil, and the town of al-Issawiya

in occupied al-Quds.

Wednesday's
Qalandia raid

The raids follow a large-scale military operation Israeli occupation

forces launched Wednesday in Qalandia refugee camp and the

nearby town of Kafr Aqab, north of occupied al-Quds.

The operation opened with a storming of the camp by special forces,

followed by heavy military reinforcements, including a bulldozer.

Israeli troops raided dozens of homes in the al-Matar and al-Kasarat

neighbourhoods, forcing several families ------ to leave their houses

amid searches and property damage, while a separate detention

campaign in Kafr Aqab ------ targeted dozens of Palestinians and

prevented residents from performing fajr prayers. Israeli forces

also sent threatening messages to residents' phones, and

used loudspeakers to order evacuations --- and a military

vehicle ran over a young Palestinian man near the camp.

The raid --- forms part of a broader West Bank escalation ordered by

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Minister Israel

Katz, following the killing and injury of Israelis during a July

confrontation near the village of al-Tell, close to Jenin.

Source: Agencies

UK legislators call for comprehensive

arms embargo, settlement trade ban

on Israel

July 27th, 6:06am

(PressTV)

A coalition of 80 British lawmakers and peers has called on

newly appointed British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to

impose sanctions on Israel -- including a comprehensive

arms embargo and a ban on trade that supports illegal

settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a letter, spearheaded by MP Kim Johnson, they urged the

government to “decisively change its stance to uphold the

rights of the Palestinian people and to prevent Israel’s

continued violation of international law.”

It also called on the government to acknowledge the UN

Independent Commission of Inquiry report, which

validated Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Alongside recognition of the UN finding, the lawmakers urged

the government to fully enforce the International Court of

Justice' advisory opinion, delivered on July 19, 2024.

It holds that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories

is unlawful, that Israel should put an end to that occupation,

desist from creating new settlements, and evacuate those

already established.

“The previous administration ---- has willfully ignored the rulings of

international courts. It has still failed to issue a formal response

to the July 2024 International Court of Justice judgment

- which requires Britain to cease all actions that aid or

assist [Israel’s] grave violations of international law,”

the letter read.

It added, “Now is the opportunity for this government and for you,

as the new Prime Minister, to truly turn a new page.”

The letter bore the signatures of prominent legislators,

including Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, Baroness

Jenny Jones, and Baroness Warsi.

In an op-ed for Labour Outlook, Johnson stated that Palestine

has emerged as the “defining test” of the Labour Party’s

commitment to the notion --- that international law

applies to all.

“If we condemn violations in one part of the world while excusing

or ignoring them elsewhere, we undermine the very rules-based

international order that Britain claims to defend,” she said.

“Burnham tells us --- he has a plan to renew confidence in Labour. If

that renewal is to mean anything, it must begin by making a clean

break with the failures of Starmerism on Palestine. If we are truly

serious about turning the page, there could be no clearer place

to begin,” Johnson noted.

The letter is supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which

has been advocating for Burnham to distance himself from former

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s disgraceful legacy by implementing

extensive sanctions against Israel - comprising a complete arms

embargo, a cessation - of all military collaboration &
diplomatic support - and a total ban on all trade.

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:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/857YMDK

or this one:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0du5YuhPZ8ahI
oxC_b6pvBprmGA4XFdG-0r2dOVYyc4UNFg/viewform?c=0&w=1

– 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.

**************************************

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.

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.