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.
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Journalist:To end war ------
prosecute UK, US officials
who wage(d) it illegally
October 22nd, 10:12pm (PressTV)
The world must finally put an end to the impunity of war
criminals, by holding US and UK officials responsible
for launching the illegal war on Iraq, done without
the approval of the UN Security Council, and
prosecuting them --- under the Nuremberg
principles, US journalist Don DeBar said.
DeBar made the remarks in an interview with Press TV while
commenting on a report which has revealed that the British
military inquiries into abuse against Iraqi nationals... have
been closed without a single prosecution being brought,
even though the credibility of many "shocking and
shameful incidents" during the war in the Middle
Eastern country, have been confirmed.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement
this week that the Service Police Legacy Investigations,
which was looking at claims of abuse in Iraq, had now
"officially closed its doors."
In March 2003, the US and Britain invaded Iraq in blatant
violation of international law and under the pretext of
finding WMDs; but no such weapons were ever
discovered in Iraq.
More than one million Iraqis were killed - as the result of
the US-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq
--- according to the California-based investigative
organization, Project Censored.
The US war in Iraq cost US taxpayers $1.7 trillion with
an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans, expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest, according to a study called Costs of War Project --- by the Watson Institute for
International Studies at Brown University.
DeBar told Press TV that the Iraq war
was illegal from the very beginning.
"It is illegal for a nation to make war on another nation if it
does not have the approval of the UN Security Council, if
any of those nations are signatories to the original UN
Charter. And it’s been adopted - that happened with
the US, as a charter member of the UN -- and it was
approved by the US Senate in the 1940s.
Consequently, the US involvement in Iraq from the beginning, and the UK involvement in Iraq from the beginning, was illegal,” he said.
“And under the Nuremberg standards, which would then
apply, each and every death consequent – intentional
or not - to either US or UK military action there, or
condoning of the US action there, by the media
or public officials, or any act facilitating that,
is an individual war crime. And, by the way,
there’s a death penalty for that,” the
journalist noted.
“No one will prosecute these people. That’s why I started
with the word impunity. And we might bookend with that
because that’s the problem. And until the world puts an
end to that impunity, until the world sees the major
contradiction in all international relations, is US,
UK, and EU imperialism, then it’s going to
continue until this eats our species,”
he stated.
A damning White House memo had revealed details of the
so-called “deal in blood” forged by former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush
over the Iraq war.
The document, titled “Secret... Memorandum for the
President”, was sent by then-US Secretary of State
Colin Powell to President Bush --- on March 28th, 2002, a week before Bush’s summit with Blair at his Crawford ranch in Texas.
The sensational memo, revealed that Blair had agreed to
support the war a year before the invasion even started
while publicly, the British prime minister was working to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The document also disclosed that Blair agreed to act as a
spin doctor for Bush and convince a skeptical public that
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass
Destruction, which actually did not exist.
In response, Bush would flatter Blair and give the
impression that London was not Washington’s
poodle but an equal partner in the
“special relationship.”
Powell told Bush that Blair “will be with us” on the
Iraq war, and assured the president that “"the UK
will follow our lead in the Middle East."
Blair has always denied the claim that he and Bush
signed a deal “in blood”, at Crawford, to launch a
war against Iraq that began on March 20th, 2003,
that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The Powell memo, however, showed how Blair and
Bush secretly prepared the Iraq war plot behind
closed doors at Crawford.
Powell told Bush: “He will present to you the strategic,
tactical and public affairs lines, that he believes will
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva today
called on the UN Permanent Security Council to
change its behaviour, while defending
Cuba's sovereignty.
At the closing of the IV Summit in Defense of Democracy,
part of the Global Progressive Mobilisation -- that has
been in session since yesterday, in Barcelona, the
president of the South American giant, stressed
that "no president, of any country in the world
has the right ------- to impose rules on other
presidents. None."
In a blunt and categorical tone, Lula da Silva pointed out that
"the five (permanent) members of the UN Security Council,
must meet to change their behaviour. We can't wake up
every day in the morning .......and go to sleep at night
....always with a president's tweet ----- threatening
the world, declaring war."
No one has the right to impose rules on other countries,
he said, and then expressed great concern about
what is happening in Cuba.
"We have to stop with this blockade of Cuba and let
Cubans live their lives. It is not possible for us to
remain silent ---- in the face of that," he said.
Shortly before, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum,
proposed a statement against military intervention in Cuba,
in her speech at the IV Summit in Defense of Democracy.
"I want to propose a statement -- against military intervention in
Cuba. May dialogue and peace prevail," she stressed --- at the
meeting in which the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, and the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and Uruguay,
Yamadú Orsi, among others, fully agreed.
________________________________________________
"A Song for Cuba" from Venezuela
this Saturday in Caracas
April 18th, 12:28am
(Prensa Latina)
As part of the solidarity campaign Love with Love is Paid,
Caracas will host today - at the Teresa Carreno theatre
the concert "A Song for Cuba," whose funds will be
used to mitigate the effects of the blockade.
Among the cultural proposals is the presentation of the iconic
Grupo Madera with its Venezuelan and Caribbean folkloric
songs and rhythms, according to the organizers, made
up of the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace, the
University of Communications and the
Future Movement.
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the
Venezuela-Cuba Friendship and Mutual Solidarity
Movement and Alba Movements, among others,
also contributed to its organization.
Elena Gil, the troubadour Leonel Ruiz, and other members
of the Simón Bolívar Cultural Brigade will also perform.
The PSUV in an audiovisual promotion on its Instagram
account indicated that it is "a meeting open to the
Venezuelan people --- and friends of the world", in which they will express their support,
commitment and solidarity.
The largest political force of the Bolivarian Republic said
that the appointment will be at 2pm local time, in the
Ríos Reyna Hall of the aforementioned theatre, with
free admission, and announced that during the day
solidarity contributions will be received for the
Cuban people.
He pointed out that --- at this time the island faces "profound
challenges" that require the accompaniment of the peoples
of the world ...and Venezuelans "will respond with what
unites us most: culture, music and brotherhood."
The United Socialist Party pointed out that solidarity "is not a
speech, it is an action; Cuba is not alone, your contribution
counts because "Love with Love is Paid," he added.
The Secretary of International Affairs and member of the
Political Bureau of the PSUV, Tania Díaz, declared on
Instagram that solidarity is the tenderness of the
peoples and with Cuba, she said, "Venezuela
has to be especially supportive because it
has given us everything, brought us love,
health, accompaniment and took care
of our grandparents."
In addition to caring for the sick and teaching us about
sports, but, above all, that love between peoples has
moments and this "is the time to help Cuba, which
is being the victim of a blockade and needs the
helping hand of the Venezuelan people."
Image: People hold up a banner as they protest against Israel at the entrance of the International Criminal Court.
April 18: Iran restricts Strait of Hormuz traffic: as US undermines truce with blockade
April 18th, 10:24pm
(Press TV Website Staff)
On April 18, Tehran reinforced its control over the Strait of
Hormuz, stating that all maritime traffic will remain under
Iranian supervision as long as Washington’s "blockade"
of Iranian ports continues.
The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) stated that all
traffic will remain under Iran’s supervision until a real end to
the US-Israeli war on Iran is secured.
Iranian officials said no new round of negotiations would
proceed without mutual understanding, as the army's commanders highlighted readiness across land,
sea, and air domains.
Across the region, Hezbollah said Iran’s firm stance at Hormuz
forced the US and Israel into accepting the Lebanon ceasefire.
Key developments - on day 50 of the
war, eleventh day of the ceasefire:
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, said in a
statement that Iran has closed down the Strait of Hormuz
after the United States chose to retain its "blockade" of
the Islamic Republic's ports ---------- in violation of the
conditions of a standing ceasefire.
Earlier, during the day, the spokesperson for the Khatam al-
Anbiya Central Headquarters, Lieutenant-Colonel Ebrahim
Zolfaghari, stated that Iran has reasserted control over
the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States' so-
called naval blockade of the waterway and
its acts of “piracy.”
SNSC said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain
control of all the traffic through the strategic Strait of
Hormuz, until a negotiated end to the US-Israeli-
imposed war is achieved.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said
that the Islamic Republic will enter the next round of
negotiations with the United States ---- only if both
sides agree upon a framework of understanding.
According to a report, Iran has not yet approved the next
ound of indirect negotiations with the United States in
light of President Donald Trump’s imposition of a
“naval blockade” on Iranian ports - and the US
side’s excessive demands during the recent
talks in Islamabad.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba
Khamenei, emphasised --- that Iran’s brave naval force
stands ready to make enemies taste the bitterness
of new defeats, in a message on Army Day.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the Iranian Army is
determined to continue its path to defend Iran’s territorial
integrity and the Islamic Revolution.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said he
personally warned a US delegation in Islamabad against
escalation in the Strait of Hormuz. He told the US side
that Iranian forces would open fire at American
minesweepers if they moved "an inch" from
their position in the strategic waterway.
Qalibaf said the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully
pushed back the enemy in the recent war, despite
its superior financial and material resources by
applying the asymmetric warfare strategy.
Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem thanked
Iran for its support in the face of Israeli aggression, and said
the closure of the Strait of Hormuz forced the United States
and Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Brigadier General Amir Alireza Elhami, commander of the
Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Air Defense Headquarters, said
Iran’s air defense forces successfully intercepted 170
enemy drones during the US-Israeli aggression
against the Islamic Republic.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the US
was seeking to take control of the vital oil route through
the Strait of Hormuz --- as the primary objective of its
aggression on Iranian soil.
Iran’s foreign ministry said its enriched uranium stockpile
will not be transferred “anywhere”, rejecting claims by
Trump that Tehran had agreed to hand it over.
The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC said cells affiliated
with the United States, the Israeli regime, and Britain have
been identified and dismantled in the provinces of East
Azarbaijan, Kerman, and Mazandaran.
At least 75 members of the British Parliament signed a motion
to sanction Israel over its genocide in Palestine and Lebanon.
The sources said ---- Tehran has made it clear that the continuation of negotiations depends on the US
refraining from imposing disproportionate
conditions. Iran stressed that it is not
prepared to engage in prolonged
and unproductive talks
under pressure.
According to the report, the Iranian officials conveyed their
position to US counterparts through a Pakistani mediator,
underscoring: that the current trajectory of negotiations
remains contingent on a shift in Washington’s approach.
Source: Tasnim News Agency
_____________________________________________
Israeli forces blow up homes
in southern Lebanon -- in
violation of ceasefire
April 18th, 6:37am
(/PressTV)
Israeli forces have carried out house demolitions in several
southern Lebanese border towns despite a ceasefire
between Israel and Lebanon, according to local
media reports.
Explosions were heard across multiple locations as
residential areas near the frontier were targeted.
Israeli officials have stated that the goal is to destroy parts of
Lebanese border towns to prevent residents from returning.
Human rights groups have drawn parallels to similar Israeli
tactics used in Gaza, warning that such actions could
constitute ethnic cleansing.
Lebanon’s Al-Manar correspondent reported that Israeli troops
conducted large-scale house detonation operations,
describing the moves ---- as violations of the
ceasefire in an attempt to compensate
for battlefield failures.
The report also noted that Israeli drones were flying over towns
adjacent to areas where occupation forces remain deployed.
In a separate incident, an Israeli airstrike on a car and a
motorcycle on the Kounin-Bint Jbeil highway resulted
in one fatality and one injury.
The development comes after US President Donald Trump
announced on Thursday that the occupying regime and
Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.
Under the agreement, the Israeli regime is barred from
carrying out offensives against the Arab country,
including its civilian and state infrastructure.
Prior to the announcement, Iran’s Parliament Speaker
Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf wrote in a post on X - that
the emergence of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon
would be down to the persistent struggle put up
by Hezbollah and other members of the
regional Axis of Resistance.
The ceasefire came eight days after a two-week truce
between Iran and the US ---- following 40 days of
unprovoked US-Israeli aggression targeting
the Islamic Republic.
At the time, Trump said a 10-point ceasefire proposal
forwarded by Iran was a “workable basis on which
to negotiate and the main framework” for talks
with the Islamic Republic.
Among other things, the proposal identified the ending
of Israeli attacks on Lebanon - as an indivisible part
of any termination of the war.
Image: Rouz-e Artesh (Army Day)
Today, April the 18th, in the
Islamic Republic of Iran...
Rouz-e Artesh (Army Day)
is celebrated.
Today, normally, exhibitions of the Iranian Army, such as a
military parade of active personnel and veterans in the
presence of the President of Iran... in front of the
Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini... takes
place during these holiday events.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has celebrated this day since
1979. It was established, by the former Supreme Leader
of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini - two months after the fall
- by revolution of a cruel dictator, Pahlavi, who was
installed by US and UK oil interests, to replace a
democratically elected socialist, who regained
the sovereign wealth of Iran by taking oil into
public ownership.
The army of Iran is the glory of the nation,
as it now defends its people from B.P.,
the UK oil monopoly, and all the oil
interests of the Zionist regimes, but especially the greed of the US now - under D. J. Trump.
The official seal of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran
features a stylized representation of the Arabic word
"Allah" ---- and is accompanied by the motto
"All for one - One for all."
This emblem was designed by Hamid Nadimi and officially
approved by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on May 9, 1980.
This symbolizes the unity and principles of Shia Islam,
with the four crescents representing the Islamic faith.
FIFA World Cup boycott‘self-evident’
under Trump’s ‘racist, vile’ regime:
Activist
April 14th, 9:03am
by Mohammad Ali Haqshenas
The United States is no longer a safe or credible host for a global
sporting event ----- with sweeping travel bans, rising internal repression, and an increasingly aggressive foreign policy,
making a boycott of the 2026 World Cup -- not radical:
but inevitable, according to an activist and artist.
In an interview with the Press TV website, Willie Dowling, an
activist .....who also happens to be a multi-instrumentalist,
singer and composer, said there were "enough reasons"
for the world to boycott the FIFA World Cup to be
co-hosted by the US before the announcement
of recent restrictions placed on travel.
Dowling’s case begins with borders - and who is allowed to cross
them. Even before new restrictions were announced in January
2026, he noted that 19 countries were already subject to full
entry bans to the US, with another nineteen ----- facing
partial restrictions.
“Without exception, all of the nations banned
or partially banned ....have mostly non-white
populations,” he told the Press TV website.
“The extraordinarily rapid decline of the United States ---- into an
even more racist, authoritarian nation --- than it has historically
been should be reason enough not to go there for the football.”
The bans, he believes, are not bureaucratic hurdles but warnings.
“This should serve as a warning to everyone that it is not safe
to go to the US, particularly if you are non-white.”
These concerns are no longer theoretical. Campaigns urging fans,
players, and national associations to stay away from the US-
hosted tournament have gained momentum across Europe,
Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia.
The possibility of a direct boycott by a competing nation
has also become a reality in the wake of the Trump
regime’s acts of aggression abroad.
Iran could essentially boycott the World Cup in response to the
unprovoked US-Israeli war of aggression ---- which began on
February 28 and targeted the country's nuclear facilities,
schools, hospitals, and bridges, as well as its
sports infrastructure.
Pointing to the "malicious actions carried out against Iran,"
Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali stated recently,
"Our players do not have security, and fundamentally
the conditions for participation do not exist."
The US government - has also restricted Iran's participation. While
FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed -- that the Iranian team is
"welcome to compete," the US president warned that the Iranian
team’s "life and safety" would be at risk ------- if it participated in
the event.
Trump administration has also barred travelers from Iran and
three other World Cup-participating countries, and multiple
Iranian delegates already had their visas denied before
December’s group-stage draw.
Activist groups cite visa denials, expanded anti-immigration
policies, internal security crackdowns, and US military
aggression abroad. Some governments.. have quietly
raised concerns about whether fans and journalists
can enter — and remain — safely.
Dowling sees a boycott as leverage. “Nor is it wise to give
Trump and his regime --------- anything they can use as a
successful publicity event,” he noted.
Individual choices matter, he argued, because - they scale.
“As individuals, we can’t do much to help bring down this
vile regime, but little actions by millions of people — like
not buying US goods --- or not travelling to the US — will
start to hit the US economy and thereby affect Trump’s
standing with his own MAGA zealots,” he stated.
The argument extends well beyond immigration. Dowling
pointed to foreign policy and to broken promises. “Let’s
remember Trump campaigned to win the Presidency
on a policy of ‘No more foreign wars’ and ‘No more
regime changes’.”
The reality, he added, looks very different. “And yet in
under a year he has bombed several countries, and
militarily threatened five others, including long-
standing allies.”
In Dowling’s view, these actions are not just aggressive but
also unlawful. “All of his military interventions fly in the
face of International Law and Human Rights."
Against that backdrop --- the idea of hosting the world’s biggest
sporting event in the US, feels absurd to him. “In light of this,
it seems almost extraordinary to me - that there is even a
question about boycotting the World Cup in the US.”
He drew a direct comparison. “The existential threat coming
from the US far exceeds that of any other nation on the
planet, and since Russia has experienced a boycott,
it seems perfectly logical - if not blindingly obvious
that the USA should be boycotted, internationally
isolated and sanctioned.”
For Dowling, the issue is credibility. “What good is ‘rules-based
order’ if the most powerful nation in the world consistently
flaunts any rule they choose to?”
The danger, he hastened to add, is not only external, but
domestic. “Incidentally, it’s interesting that Trump said:
‘No more foreign wars’ - because it looks increasingly
likely that he’s going to spark a civil war in the US.”
Dowling believes internal unrest - may be politically useful.
“I suspect he’s continually provoking dissent and protest
in the US in order to declare a national emergency and
invoke the Insurrection Act, thereby cancelling the
midterm elections --- which he would otherwise
lose and then face immediate impeachment
and probably jail.”
And.. he sees a longer game. “And should he succeed in
cancelling the midterms, he’ll undoubtedly seek a way
to cancel the 2028 election.”
The implications, he noted -- are chilling. “This increasingly
authoritarian grip and the casual willingness of the Trump
regime to either censor, jail, extradite, or even murder
those of a different colour, or those in opposition to
them are reasons enough to boycott the football.”
Some calls to stay away have come from inside football itself.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and several European
officials recently suggested fans would be safer
watching from home .....rather than going all
the way to the stadiums in the US.
Dowling’s criticism sharpened - when it
turned to FIFA’s conduct under Trump.
He cited “the ludicrous ‘Peace Award’ the football governing
body presented to Trump, only days before he bombed
Venezuela to steal their oil.”
The timing, he added, came “long after the US
military assaults on other nations in the
previous months of 2025.”
“The idea of Trump qualifying for any award in the name
of peace is laughable,” Dowling said. “And FIFA
inexplicably made themselves part of that
ridiculous hypocrisy.”
At the heart of the boycott argument is exclusion. “The ban on
travel and the visa policies imposed by the US extend almost
exclusively to nations that have predominantly non-white
populations,” Dowling stated.
“This is typical of the Trump regime … of course, they
consistently deny their racism, but one only needs
to observe their actions: to see that they don’t
match the rhetoric.”
He described a governing style built on misinformation, referring
to the Trump administration. “This is a regime that has adopted
lying --- as its key strategy.” He invokes a phrase popularized by
Trump’s former adviser. “As Steve Bannon said — with strong
echoes of Joseph Goebbels — ‘Flood the zone with shit’.”
The goal, Dowling argues, is distraction.
“I suspect they might have been even further down the line with
their objectives had they not started to attack their own white
population in democratic states, particularly recently --- in
Minnesota,” he added, pointing to the recent violence.
The standard, he said, is racial. “The US and indeed the Western
world -------- tends to be more tolerant towards murder -------- if it’s
non-whites that are being killed.”
Which brings him back to football. And to first principles. “How
can a sporting event be described as ‘global’ ....if 39% of the
world’s nations ---- are exempt from the racist whims of
the Trump regime?”
For Dowling, the conclusion needs no embellishment.
“Taking all of the above into account.... I’d suggest
that the moral case for a boycott is self-evident.”
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.