(Text-only) Rhondda Records Home Page

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.

China repudiates military

threats ....against Cuba

July 16th, 12:25am

(Prensa Latina)

China today expressed its firm rejection of any use of force against

Cuba and urged the United States to immediately cease military

threats and the blockade imposed on the island.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded to recent reports

that senior officials of the U.S. Department of Defense have

studied the possibility of military action against Cuba.

The spokesman said Beijing took note of these reports ---- and

stressed that the use or threat of use of force in international

relations seriously violates the UN Charter and endangers

regional and international peace and security.

Lin Jian reiterated - that China firmly opposes such actions and

recalled that the UN General Assembly recently decided, by an

overwhelming majority, to hold the debate on the need to end

the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed

by the United States against Cuba.

According to the spokesman, that decision reflects the voice of

justice of the international community in support of the island.

The spokesman urged the United States to immediately end

threats of use of force and any form of blockade against

the Caribbean nation.

Lin reaffirmed that China will continue to firmly support Cuba

in the defense of its national sovereignty and maintain its

opposition to any external interference.

Beijing has repeatedly called on the United States to immediately

end the blockade and sanctions against the island, considering

that such measures seriously affect people's basic livelihoods

and ---- violate their right to development.

The IRGC reported an attack

----- on a US base in Bahrain

July 16th, 11:45pm

(Izvestia.ru)

Iranian military personnel attacked US P-8 helicopters and

reconnaissance aircraft at the Sahir base in Bahrain. This

was reported by the Fars news agency late on July 16th.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's army has launched drone

strikes on the location of P-8 helicopters and American

army reconnaissance aircraft at the Sahir base in

Bahrain," the Telegram channel reported.

It is specified that the strikes were carried out in

response to the actions of the USA against Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also reported today that

the Iranian armed forces had struck the gathering place of US

soldiers and military equipment on the territory of Kuwait.

It was specified that the attack was carried out during the

8th wave of the Nasr-2 operation using missiles & drones.

___________________________________________________________

US launches fresh wave of strikes -- on

Iran, targets bridges, railway, airports

July 16th, 10:58pm

(PressTV)

The US carried out a fresh wave of military strikes on Iran's

southern regions late Thursday and into Friday, hitting

civilian infrastructure including bridges, a railway

station, and residential neighbourhoods.

In Hormozgan province, US airstrikes targeted three bridges

in Khmer county, including the crucial Khmer Bridge

connecting Bandar Abbas to Lar in Fars province.

The attacks occurred while vehicles were crossing the

bridges, causing them to be thrown off the structures.

At least two people were martyred and four others wounded

in the attacks on bridges, according to Iranian officials.

In another attack on a residential neighborhood in the port city

of Bandar Abbas, at least one civilian was killed and eight

others were injured.

US forces also struck the railway junction

station in the city, injuring two Iranians.

The strikes caused the malfunction of an electrical substation

on Kish Island, resulting in a power outage in the area.

Explosions were also reported near Bandar Abbas airport,

with at least one projectile hitting the facility.

US strikes targeted Iranshahr airport in southeastern Iran,

with three explosions heard around the airport.

The attacks injured at least one person and caused damage

to the airport's power facilities and fuel storage tanks.

The attacks --- marked the sixth

consecutive night of US strikes.

According to Iran's Health Ministry, at least 35 civilians,

including women and children, have been killed in the

current wave of US strikes, with over 300 injured.

'Third betrayal of diplomacy'

The US has also reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian

ports, further escalating tensions in the region.

US Central Command claimed in a statement that US

forces redirected three commercial vessels trying to

run the blockade, disabled one that did not comply,

and boarded one vessel for verification purposes.

Iran warns of regional retaliation

In response to the US aggression, Iran's Islamic Revolution

Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Army launched

retaliatory strikes on US military facilities across

the Persian Gulf region.

The latest attacks came after Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central

Headquarters issued a warning --- that any US attack on the

country's infrastructure will prompt the Islamic Republic

to destroy all infrastructure --- across the region.

"The enemy must understand that if they target even a single

piece of Iranian infrastructure, everything that has so far

remained untouched solely because of Iran's restraint

- every piece of infrastructure throughout the region

- will be destroyed," the spokesman said.

___________________________________________

'Energy for everyone or no one':

Iran's IRGC warns Trump

July 16th, 1:42pm

(Al Mayadeen English)

Brigadier General Yadollah Javani says the US will fail to reopen

the Strait of Hormuz militarily, warning of consequences if the

US attacks Iranian infrastructure.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Deputy Commander for

Political Affairs Brigadier General Yadollah Javani said on Thursday

that the United States will not be able to reopen the Strait of

Hormuz using military force, stressing that there is a

consensus in Iran - to maintain control over the

strategic waterway.

Javani said US President Donald Trump "will take the dream of

reopening the Strait of Hormuz through military action with

him to the grave," adding that Iranian officials are fully

united over preserving the waterway and enforcing

Iran's arrangements regarding its management.

The IRGC official said Iran's armed forces have the military

capabilities needed to maintain control over the strait due

to the geopolitical importance of the Gulf, the Strait of

Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman. He also claimed that

there is full public support in Iran for the policy,

saying the Iranian people not only support

maintaining control over the strait but

consider it a top priority.

Iran warns against targeting infrastructure

Javani also addressed Trump's threats to target Iranian

infrastructure, saying Washington believes..... it can

retaliate against Iran by destroying infrastructure

and depriving the Iranian people of energy.

"Trump imagines that he can easily take revenge against a

resistant and steadfast people facing American ambitions

by destroying Iran's infrastructure and depriving our

people of energy," Javani said.

To that, he warned that if the US military makes a strategic

mistake by targeting Iranian infrastructure, "the entire

world, including leaders in America, Europe, other

regions, and the rulers of regional countries,

must pay attention to this important and

decisive point: if the terrorist US army

commits such a strategic mistake,

everyone should bid farewell to

energy in the region."

Javani added that Iran has adopted a firm policy

regarding energy, stating, "Energy for everyone

or no one."

Iran announced days ago that it had fully closed the Strait of

Hormuz after previously allowing commercial vessels to

pass through routes designated by the IRGC, after the

US violation of the memorandum of understanding

between the two sides.

Iran will not allow US to intervene in the strait

Earlier on Thursday, speaking on behalf of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya

Central Headquarters, spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim

Zolfaghari said the United States -- "continues its arrogance and

destabilization of the region," stressing that Iran "will not allow,

under any circumstances or in any form, the United States, as

a country from outside the region, to intervene in the Strait of

Hormuz," stating that the issue is "an unbreakable red line".

Zolfaghari warned that if Trump follows through on threats to target

Iranian infrastructure, "everything that has remained intact until

now, namely the infrastructure across the region, will be

crushed under the strikes of the Iranian armed forces

until nothing remains."

He added that Iran's response would not be proportional, saying

the country's armed forces would deliver "a superior strike,

more severe, broader, and more destructive than ever

before," while warning that "the fire of the anger of

a people who have never surrendered - will burn

the aggressor."

The remarks came -- after Trump threatened to target Iranian

infrastructure, including power plants and bridges, if Tehran

does not comply with US demands regarding the Strait of

Hormuz. Trump also warned that Washington would

continue military pressure and expand attacks to

additional targets if no agreement is reached,

while previously threatening Iranian oil

wells and desalination plants.

Source: Al Mayadeen English

Today, July 16th, in 1941,

Dag Solstad,

novelist, short-story writer and dramatist,

is born.

His birthplace.. was Sandefjord,

Reichskommissariat Norwegen

(today Norway).

Dag Solstad's work has been

translated into 20 languages.

Solstad wrote nearly 30 books and was the only author to have

received the Norwegian Literary Critics' Award three times.

Other awards include the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment

in 1969, the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1989, for

Roman 1987 & the Brage Prize in 2006 for Armand V.

Solstad was born in Sandefjord.. to merchant Ole Modal Solstad and

Ragna Sofie Tveitan. After receiving his examen artium, he worked

as a teacher in Kabelvåg and as a journalist for the newspaper

Tiden. He then enrolled at the University of Oslo, where he

contributed to the literary magazine Profil.

Solstad made his literary debut with Spiraler, a collection of short

stories influenced by literary modernism, in 1965, and started

working as a full-time writer the following year.

His second book, the text collection Svingstol, came in 1967.

Solstad made his debut as a novelist in 1969, with Irr! Grønt!.

During the 1970s, he was a member of the maoist Workers'

Communist Party. Political themes are present in several

of his works from this time, such as the 1971 novel

Arild Asnes, 1970.

His works during this phase are the novel 25. septemberplassen

(1974), the propaganda play Kamerat Stalin,

eller familien Nordby (1975), and the war

trilogy (1977, 1978, 1980).

In 1982 the novel: Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning om den store

politiske vekkelse som har hjemsøkt vårt land, about a politically

active teacher in Larvik in the early 1970s, was published; a

film adaptation, Gymnaslærer Pedersen, was made by

director Hans Petter Moland in 2006.

Several of Solstad's later works incorporate elements of autofiction,

with the author himself present as a character, or events from his

youth forming part of the story.

His first marriage was to Erna Irene Asp, from 1968.

From 1983 to 1990 he was married to Tone

Elisabeth Melgård. In 1995 he married

journalist Therese Bjørneboe, and

was thus son-in-law of writer

Jens Bjørneboe.

Solstad lived part-time in Berlin and part-time in

the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo. He died

on 14 March 2025, at the age of 83.

“How the poor masses were streaming into the big city,

bewitched by the idea of living just there. They left a

poor, humdrum everyday life in the countryside

for a hopeless slum on the fringes of the

metropolis from which they would

never escape.”

"He stared at the big blonde girl.

Pussy! he shouted. Eat your

food! Bacon snout!"

“And so, when the chips are down, I must say, though not without

a sense of repugnance, that if you wish to show your belief in

democracy, you also have to do so when you are in the

minority, convinced both intellectually and, not least,

in your innermost self, that the majority in the name

of democracy, is crushing everything you stand for

and that means something to you, indeed, all that

gives you the strength to endure, well, that gives

a kind of meaning to your life ---- something that

transcends your own fortuitous lot, one might

say. When the heralds of democracy roar,

triumphantly bawling out their vulgar

victories day after day so that it

really makes you suffer, as in

my own case, you still have

to accept it; I will not let

anything else... be said

about me, he thought.”

1,150 health professionals, organizations

launch petition ---- to boycott Israeli

medical association over

Gaza genocide

June 26th, 4:20pm

(PressTV)

More than 1,150 health professionals and medical organizations

have signed a petition --------- demanding a boycott of the Israeli

Medical Association (IMA), saying it is directly complicit in the

ongoing genocide against Palestinians ------ in the besieged

Gaza Strip.

The signatories, are urging the World Medical Association (WMA)

to expel the IMA over its complete silence on Israel’s systematic

destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure, as well as the killing,

abduction, and torture of Palestinian doctors, nurses, and

first responders.

Led by the People’s Health Movement (PHM), Doctors for Gaza,

and the Health Advisory Council of Jewish Voice for Peace,

the petition also calls for the WMA to suspend the Israeli

body for its blatant failure.. to uphold core medical

ethical standards.

Among the hundreds of signatories are Spain’s Health Workers

for Palestine, the US-based Doctors Against Genocide, and

the Health Alliance for Democracy in the Philippines.

The petition, recently published in The Lancet, the world’s

leading medical journal, states that the IMA has violated

medical ethics and international humanitarian law... in

the besieged strip.

The Lancet noted that it could not find any public statements

from the IMA ---- condemning Israeli attacks on Gaza’s health

system, criticizing the regime’s conduct in the war, calling

for a ceasefire, or responding to UN reports documenting

genocide against the Palestinian people.

Instead, the IMA has repeatedly echoed Israeli regime talking

points, including the unsubstantiated claim that the Hamas

resistance movement uses hospitals as command centres.

In recent months, there has been a growing international

campaign to suspend Israel from the WMA and boycott

Israeli doctors and medical institutions.

A report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor,

in April 2026 highlighted the IMA’s failure to condemn the

Israeli military’s repeated attacks on Gaza’s hospitals.

The report stated: “This incitement .....was supported by

institutional cover from the IMA, which not only failed to

condemn the targeting of the health system but also

lobbied to block international ceasefire calls,

prioritizing military alignment ---- over its

humanitarian duty to protect life.”

In mid-June --- the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),

the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the US, welcomed

international medical groups’ calls for Israel’s suspension from

the WMA.

In late 2023, a group of Israeli doctors, including dozens of

practicing physicians, published an open letter explicitly

calling for the bombardment of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital,

describing the territory’s health infrastructure as a

“legitimate target.”

The IMA.... took no disciplinary action against them.

Al-Shifa Hospital was among dozens of medical facilities

in Gaza that were repeatedly bombed and raided by

Israeli forces. Scores of hospitals and health

centres ---- were destroyed ---- or

rendered inoperable.

In December 2024, Israeli troops stormed

Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

According to Euro-Med Monitor, medical staff and

displaced civilians sheltering there --------- were

executed during the raid.

The hospital director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, was

abducted and remains in Israeli custody, where

he is subjected to severe mistreatment ----

and torture.

The Israeli genocide in Gaza has effectively annihilated

the Strip’s entire medical system. Airstrikes combined

with a criminal blockade have pushed the remaining

hospitals to the brink of total collapse, leaving

critically injured patients...... without

adequate care.

With severe shortages of medicine, equipment, and fuel,

doctors in Gaza warn that many more lives will be lost

as the Zionist regime’s siege continues to strangle

the healthcare system.

The systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure, medical

facilities, and densely populated areas by the Israeli

occupation has been widely documented ---- as

constituting genocide.

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 - opposed World 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.

____________________

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

For more details visit

www.factoryporth.com
www.facebook.com/TheFactoryVenue
Twitter @TheFactoryPorth
01443 687080

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

Daytime Delights...

Starts at 1pm

The Parc & Dare, Treorchy

Lunchtime Concerts in the Lounge Bar.

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.ukÃ‚Â

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

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:

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.

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.

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

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 !!!

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.

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

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!

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."

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

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 !!!

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.

What have we got to lose?