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
strengthen global support for our common cause.”
The More Aggression,
The More Revolution.
1:27am
(Prensa Latina)
The political ecosystem into which the Bolivarian Revolution has
been transformed gives legitimacy to the process in its daily life.
The cognitive and media war against Venezuela prevents, “in a true
crime”, the people of the world from being able to enjoy what a
Revolution like the Bolivarian one means, seeing it in all its
complexity, its contradictions, but also, in its beauty
and organizational capacity.
The level of political participation in Venezuela is stunning, in
a completely dialogic country, which since the arrival of the
Revolution has not stopped dialogue ----- the war against
Nicolás Maduro has been brutal and unjust, because
if ever there was a man completely dedicated to
the revolutionary cause, it has been him.
Unfortunately, the cultural part designed by imperialism in the world - is so powerful.... that it is capable of hiding that, even from its own compatriots ....who live that reality.
The United States Government knows all this, and knows the
vanguard of the PSUV - and the very high cost that it would
mean to confront it, together with the Bolivarian National
Armed Forces ------- in a conflict against our country, beyond military asymmetries.
As Maduro said, when closing the plenary session of the Fifth
Congress, “each aggression of imperialism accelerates our
evolution, makes us stronger, more participatory and
democratic;the more aggression, the more
Revolution; and at maximum pressure,
maximum preparation”.
__________________________________________
They ask for an end------- to the US
threats of war against Venezuela
December 8th, 2:48am
(Prensa Latina)
President Donald Trump and his administration continue to
get dangerously close today towards a military incursion
into Venezuela, a war adventure that they could enter
and would not be able to get out of, easily.
This is what activist Gloria La Riva warned of when reflecting,
in dialogue with Prensa Latina in this capital, on the growing
threats against the South American nation.
“In these months we have been seeing the increase in United
States aggression towards Venezuela, but also towards the
entire region”, she stressed.
“It is evident --- what Trump said in his first term (2017-2021) that
he was going to end Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and socialism
in Latin America, and..... he is dealing with that”, the former
presidential candidate of the Socialism and Liberation
Party, also emphasized.
La Riva noted that the Pentagon has dozens of warships there,
including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest
ship in the world (there), but this situation has generated
a lot of debate in the United States -- “even within the
government, because they fear that they are going
to get involved in something... they cannot get
out of”, she said.
The important thing for us in the United States in the progressive
movement - she added - is to understand that, if they attack
Venezuela, they can most likely consider aggression
against Cuba and also against Nicaragua.
The coordinator of the Cuba-Venezuela Solidarity Committee in the
United States rejected attacks by Pentagon forces on small boats
in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in the name of fighting
against drug trafficking. A campaign that to date leaves
87 dead and more than twenty boats sunk.
They are still killing in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean,
la Riva, pointing out -- that Colombia is also a target “because
President Gustavo Petro --- had the courage to condemn the
United States for having caused the genocide in Gaza ----
and for denouncing the threats towards Latin America”.
She reiterated that this region of the world must continue to be a
Zone of Peace, as was proclaimed in Havana, Cuba, in 2014.
“People want peace and the best way to guarantee it is for us to
rise up here ---- in their defense, in this country”, she expressed.
Now we are seeing forums, protests, youth rallies especially saying
Hands off Venezuela! Hands off Cuba! Lift the blockade! and stop
this infamous false accusation against Cuba, of being a sponsor
of terrorism, she concluded.
A recent editorial in the Los Angeles newspaper La Opinión,
urged the US Government not to embark on a military
adventure in Venezuela... that would have an unpredictable end and urged it to
“consolidate --- a true strategy
to combat drug trafficking
--- instead of using it as
an excuse --- against
leaders that Trump
doesn't like”.
Over the weekend, thousands of people here took to
the streets in more than 65 cities ------- in a call to
stop this new war, before it begins.
Image: People hold up a banner as they protest against Israel at the entrance of the International Criminal Court.
People hold up a banner as they protest
against Israel at the entrance of the
International Criminal Court
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Wife ofmartyredPalestinian doctor
urges pressure on Israel
to return his body
December 8th, 7:29pm
(PressTV)
The wife of Palestinian doctor Adnan al-Bursh, the renowned
orthopedic surgeon tortured to death in Israeli detention,
has called on the international community to pressure
the Israeli regime ----- to return his body.
Al-Bursh was martyred in April 2024 after nearly four months in Israeli custody.
On Monday, his wife, Yasmin al-Bursh, announced a campaign
to recover her husband’s body, along with the bodies of other
Palestinian prisoners withheld by the Israeli regime in the
“cemetery of numbers.”
She also urged an international investigation
into the deaths of Palestinian detainees.
During a sit-in by the families of prisoners held in Israeli jails outside
the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) in Gaza, Yasmin al-Bursh said, “The same occupation that
negotiated extensively with mediators to retrieve all of its
dead - is withholding our martyrs — a clear example of
the double standards it practices.”
“We call on the Red Cross and international organizations to act
urgently so we can bury our slain loved ones in a dignified and
humane manner, in accordance with our faith,” she added.
Hamas condemns Israel for deaths of three Palestinian prisoners
Hamas says the latest deaths of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails
amount to “further evidence of the systematic crimes” committed
by the Zionist regime.
Last month, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned
the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli
jails as “full-fledged war crimes,” and urging the international
community to act.
The movement stated that since the start of the occupying regime’s
genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip in October 2023, dozens
of Palestinian detainees have been killed and many more
subjected to brutal mistreatment---- as part of an
organized campaign of repression.
The number of detainees who have died in Israeli custody
since the beginning of Israel's genocidal war ---- has
exceeded one hundred. The identities of 84 of
them have been announced, including
50 detainees from Gaza.
Survivors and human rights groups have reported shocking
abuses in Israeli prisons ---- including severe beatings,
scalding with boiling water, dog attacks, sexual
violence, as well as a denial of food, sleep,
and medical care.
Israel has so far killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since
launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023,
-- after the al-Aqsa Storm operation, before a ceasefire
deal was reached in the strip last October.
________________________________________
Medical conditions in Gaza remain
'as hard as ever' despite truce:
MSF chief
December 8th, 7:12pm
(PressTV)
The president of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says medical
conditions in Gaza remain “as hard as they’ve ever been,” as
a fragile ceasefire has failed to ease the besieged territory’s
humanitarian collapse.
Javid Abdelmoneim, who worked as a doctor in Gaza in 2024, made
the remarks on Sunday at the annual Doha Forum on diplomacy,
saying medical teams are still operating under extreme
shortages and unsafe conditions.
“While we’re able to continue doing operations, deliveries, wound
care, you’re using protocols or materials and drugs that are
inferior, that are not the standard,” he said. “So you’ve
got substandard care being delivered.”
Abdelmoneim stressed that the current pause is little more
than “a ceasefire of sorts,” noting that “several to dozens
of Palestinians” are still being killed daily by Israel.
Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas agreed in October
to a US-backed truce intended to increase the flow of aid into the
enclave, which has been devastated by nearly two years of
Israel's genocidal war.
Despite the ceasefire, the violence has continued; at least 376
Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks and airstrikes
across Gaza since October 10.
“We’re seeing the injured patients - in the emergency rooms
in which we work throughout the strip,” Abdelmoneim said.
Aid agencies continue to press for expanded access for
humanitarian convoys, while Israel has rejected calls
to allow relief shipments.... to enter through the
Rafah crossing from Egypt.
Abdelmoneim said that since the truce began, aid
“hasn’t come in to the level that’s necessary.”
Israel prevents Glaucoma patients
from leaving Gaza for treatment
The suffering of Palestinian patients diagnosed with
Glaucoma has been exacerbated as a result of the
Israeli regime’s genocidal policy.
Abdelmoneim stated that both the severe shortage of
medical supplies and the widespread destruction of
hospitals in the Palestinian territory have left care
fundamentally inadequate.
"Those two things together mean increased infection rates,
increased stays and greater risk of complications. So it is
a substandard level of care that you're able to deliver,"
he said.
He added that Israel continues to use humanitarian aid as a
weapon of war. “There isn’t a substantial change, and it is
being weaponized… So as far as we’re concerned that is
an ongoing feature of the genocide. It’s being used as a
chip and that’s something that should not happen with
humanitarian aid,” the MSF chief said.
In 2024, MSF reported that its medical teams had evidence
on the ground in Gaza, concluding that a genocide is
taking place.
More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have
been killed since October 2023, when Israel launched its
genocidal war on Gaza.
Despite the truce, large parts of the besieged Palestinian
territory remain inaccessible ------ due to the continued
presence of Israeli occupation forces.
_________________________________
Israel is holding 32 Gaza detainees ---------
past their sentences: Advocacy group
December 8th, 6:41pm
(PressTV)
A Palestinian prisoners’ advocacy group has raised concerns about
serious legal and humanitarian violations by Israel, stating that the
regime is unlawfully detaining Palestinians who have already
served their sentences ----- and withholding the bodies of
individuals who died under torture while in custody.
The Asra Media Office (AMO) stated on Monday that Israel continues
to keep 32 individuals from Gaza behind bars despite their legal
sentences having already expired. Some of these cases
extend back months.... or even years.
The office emphasized that this practice represents arbitrary
detention, breaches international law, and amounts to a
war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
According to the AMO, the detainees continue to be held without
ever being presented to a judicial body, and their families are
deprived of visitation rights -- or even basic updates about
their health.
The group characterized the policy as a systematic form of
collective punishment targeting the population of Gaza.
Article 132 of the Fourth Geneva Convention mandates the
immediate release of detainees upon the completion of
their sentences. However, Israel has been frequently
criticized for failing to uphold the obligation.
The AMO called on international human rights organizations
to document these incidents and urge Israel to promptly
release the detainees.
At least --- 110 Palestinians killed in Israeli
prisons since Ben-Gvir took office: Report
A recent report has shown that at least 110 Palestinians have
been killed in Israeli prisons -- ever since the hawkish leader
of the Jewish Power Party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, gained power.
It also urged Palestinian officials to intensify diplomatic and
legal initiatives in international forums to highlight what it
referred to ......as an escalating atrocity.
Israel holds full responsibility for ensuring the safety and lives
of those detained without legal justification, the advocacy
group pointed out.
Back in November, Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners,
including 1,700 from Gaza, under a ceasefire and
prisoner exchange agreement with the Hamas
resistance movement.
Many of those released at the time were in poor health, sharing
accounts of torture, starvation, and humiliation endured
during their time inside Israeli prisons.
Over 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are
currently held in Israeli prisons, where they face medical
neglect and conditions that have resulted in the deaths
of several detainees, as reported by both Palestinian
and Israeli human rights groups.
Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire agreement involves the release
of Israeli captives in return for Palestinian prisoners.
Additionally, the plan... outlines efforts to rebuild Gaza and
establish a new governing structure that excludes Hamas.
New Escalation ---------- Occupation Forces Launch
Widespread Raids and Arrests Across West Bank
December 8th, 12:29pm
(al Manar)
The Israeli occupation army launched a widespread campaign of
raids across the occupied West Bank in the early hours of today,
resulting in the arrest of a number of Palestinian civilians.
Among those detained during an incursion into the town of Arraba
near Jenin, is the former prisoner Lubna Ezz El-Din, who had been
released in an earlier prisoner exchange deal,
Occupation Forces stormed the city of Nablus and the adjacent
Balata and Ein refugee camps. A residential building in the
Rafidia area, west of Nablus, was also raided.
The operations extended to the governorates of Salfit, Bethlehem,
Hebron, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm. A substantial Israeli military force
further conducted a raid on the town of Mikhmas, northeast of
occupied Jerusalem.
A report in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper revealed that Israeli
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has allocated 2.7 billion
shekels for the establishment of 17 new settlements in
the West Bank ...over the coming five years.
In a related development, the Palestinian Ministry of Health
announced the death of 21-year-old Baraa Qablan, who
succumbed to the wounds sustained from Israeli
occupation gunfire last night --- between the
towns of Azzun and Izbat al-Tabib... near
Qalqilya. The Israeli army is currently
holding his body.
Source: Agencies (edited
& translated by Al-Manar
English Website)
__________________________________________
Hezbollah MP Calls on Lebanese State
Not to Make Concessions at Expense
of National Duties
December 8th, 12:09pm
(al Manar)
Member of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc at the Lebanese
Parliament MP Raed Berro, called on the Lebanese State ---- not to
offer concessions to the enemy at the expense of national duites.
During a memorial service in Beirut’s southern suburb (Dahiyeh), MP
Berro said the Lebanese State “should not be a third party when
the conflict is between the Lebanese people and the Israeli
enemy,” Hezbollah Media Relations announced, Monday.
“We understand...... that it takes into account some international
pressures and internal Lebanese circumstances, but not at the
expense of carrying out its national duties as stipulated by
the constitution, the law, and national duty,” the
Hezbollah lawmaker said.
Being a third party contradicts the normal role of the State,
which is to defend the national interests, MP Berro stated.
He called on the Lebanese State to put an end to some officials
“who are indifferent to the wounds and pain of the people and
the daily Israeli attacks against them, and even justify the
aggression ------ and blame the resistance for defending
the country.”
“Anyone who believes that these attacks will weaken the resistance
and its people is mistaken. And anyone who assumes that we have
been weakened internally, in Lebanon, as a result of the blows
the resistance suffered in the last war - is also mistaken,”
MP Berro affirmed.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
_________________________________________
‘Israel’ Acknowledges Over 22,000 Soldiers
Injured .....Since Start of Gaza Offensive
December 8th, 11:09am
(al Manar)
The Israeli Occupation Ministry of Defense has disclosed..... that
its rehabilitation department is currently treating approximately
82,400 soldiers and veterans wounded during military service.
This figure includes over 22,000 injuries sustained since the
beginning of the military offensive on Gaza, which started
on October 7, 2023.
According to data reported by The Jerusalem Post, nearly 31,000 of those receiving care are being treated for psychological
conditions, with post-traumatic stress disorder - being the primary diagnosis.
The ministry’s statistics indicate that 58% of the new injury claims
are related to mental health, with roughly 1,500 new requests
for recognition of psychological service injuries.......
being filed each month.
The enemy ministry projects that the number of wounded requiring
treatment will rise to 100,000 by the year 2028. It is estimated
that roughly half of this total will be suffering from chronic
psychological disorders.
The released data further specifies that 26% of the current caseload
stems from the Gaza offensive. Among these casualties are 132
individuals now confined to wheelchairs, 64 who have been
declared 100% disabled, 88 amputees, and five who
have lost their sight.
In response to the rapidly growing number of wounded, the Ministries
of Defense and Finance, have established a special committee to
explore.. the expansion of support and treatment programs. The
Ministry of Defense has announced its intention...... to increase
the rehabilitation department’s budget by 53% ...raising it to
8.3 billion shekels (about $2.57 billion). Nearly half of this
budget is earmarked for treating psychological trauma.
Demographic breakdowns show that 68% of the wounded are
over the age of 40. The city of Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut
recorded the highest injury rate relative to its
population --- followed by Herzliya and
Ramat Gan. The oldest individual
receiving treatment ---- is a 98-
year-old veteran......... of the
pre-state Haganah forces.
Source: Agencies (edited
& translated by Al-Manar
English Website)
__________________________
Israeli Occupation Forces Raid
UNRWA Headquarters ------ in
Occupied East Jerusalem
December 8th, 10:08am
(al Manar)
Israeli occupation forces stormed and searched the headquarters
of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood
of occupied East Jerusalem on Monday morning.
UNRWA confirmed that the forces raided the compound and
confiscated mobile phones from the site’s security guards.
The agency stated that a large contingent of forces
remained inside, severing communications and
leaving the situation unclear.
The raid followed the United Nations General Assembly’s
overwhelming adoption last Friday, of five resolutions
concerning Palestine, which included the renewal
of UNRWA’s mandate.
The Jerusalem Governorate strongly condemned the incursion,
labeling it a blatant violation of international law and a serious
assault on the inviolability and dignity of United Nations
institutions. In a statement, it asserted that the action
constitutes a clear breach of the UN Charter, the
conditions of UN membership, and specific UN
resolutions—particularly Security Council
Resolution 2730 (May 24, 2024), which
obligates states ----- to protect UN
personnel - and facilities. This
protection, the Governorate
noted, applies directly
to UNRWA.
According to the Governorate’s account, a large force stormed
the headquarters at dawn, detained security personnel,
confiscated their phones, and imposed a complete
communications blackout and cordon around
the area -- while conducting extensive
searches inside the building.
The statement contextualized the raid as part of a series of attacks
since the Israeli government’s enforcement on January 30 of a
decision to ban UNRWA operations in East Jerusalem. This
decision, had already prompted the departure of the
agency’s international staff from the city - after
their permits expired, while local staff were
absent from the offices during the raid.
The Jerusalem Governorate reaffirmed ---- that East Jerusalem is
occupied territory under international law, and its annexation is
unrecognized. It stressed that targeting a UN agency serving
refugees represents a grave violation of the international
system and UN authority, and constitutes a direct
challenge to the recent UN General Assembly
vote renewing UNRWA’s mandate.
The Governorate reiterated its support for the International Court
of Justice’s advisory opinion, which underscores Israel’s lack of
sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, including
Jerusalem—an integral part of UNRWA’s operational area.
It called on the international community to reject recent
Israeli decisions, which it described --- as tools for
entrenching occupation and oppression.
Concluding its statement, the Jerusalem Governorate urged urgent
international action to hold Israel accountable as a state that
violates international law and to prosecute its leaders for
crimes committed against the Palestinian people and
their institutions.
Source: Palestinian media (Translated
& edited by Al-Manar English Website)
_____________________________________
Jumblatt --- No Normalization,
No Negotiations Under Fire
December 8th, 8:08am
(al Manar)
Walid Jumblatt, former head of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party,
stated, “We reject normalization and insist on a ceasefire before any
return to the principles established at the Beirut Arab Summit.” He
emphasized, “We adhere to fixed principles, primarily concerning
the land and sovereignty — and by land, we mean everything
above and below it.”
Jumblatt made these remarks on Sunday after a meeting with
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh.
The meeting was attended by MP Taymour Jumblatt,
head of the Democratic Gathering bloc, and former
minister Ghazi Aridi.
He further affirmed, “We refuse to negotiate under fire with the
Israeli enemy,” noting that “Simon Karam, appointed head of
the negotiating delegation, is a seasoned negotiator.
However, any negotiations must take place under
the conditions of a solid ceasefire, an Israeli
withdrawal, and the return of displaced
residents to their villages.”
Jumblatt also called for “strengthening the Lebanese army,”
expressing support for “the army’s measures south of the
Litani River.” He concluded by questioning, “Where is
the international aid for the Lebanese army?”
Source: Al-Manar Eglish Website
____________________________________
New panel with pro-Israel ties
------- to oversee UK case on
Palestine Action: Report
November 27th, 7:28pm
(PressTV)
Police officers address demonstrators at a protest against
the ban on Palestine Action outside the UK Home Office in London, November 24, 2025. (Photo by Shutterstock)
A new report says a British judge set to decide whether the UK’s
proscription of Palestine Action is lawful has been abruptly
replaced by a panel ---- that includes a judge with long-
standing ties to Israel, leading to accusations
of a “stitch-up.”
The Electronic Intifada reported on Thursday --- that High Court
Judge Victoria Sharp, who has well-documented connections
to pro-Israel lobbying networks in Britain, will now lead the
newly appointed panel overseeing the case.
Before the change, High Court Justice Martin Chamberlain, an
expert on free speech law.... had been scheduled to rule on
whether to overturn the British government’s designation:
of Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organization. But last
Wednesday ----- he was abruptly replaced by a 3-judge
panel, comprised of Victoria Sharp, Karen Steyn and Jonathan Swift.
Victoria Sharp’s appointment to the panel is drawing
particular scrutiny ------- due to her family and
professional links to pro-Israel networks.
Her twin brother, Richard Sharp, sits on the board of trustees
of the charity One Million Mentors, alongside Trevor Chinn,
a major British funder of pro-Israel groups.
Richard Sharp is also a former chair of the BBC. When he
was appointed in 2021, the broadcaster noted: that
“Sharp’s heritage is Jewish and he is considered
by those who know him, broadly pro-Israel. He
has a twin sister, Victoria, who is a
senior judge.”
He resigned from the BBC in 2023 ------ after breaching
public appointments rules by failing to disclose his
involvement in facilitating a £1 million loan to
then prime minister Boris Johnson.
Victoria Sharp’s own professional background has also come
under the spotlight. As a barrister in the 1980s, she was
instructed by the law firm, Mischon de Reya --- which
later represented the Israeli regime - and a number
of pro-Israel groups, in legal efforts to challenge
boycotts of Israel in the UK.
She has also been reported to have served as one of the
“principal advisers” to media tycoon Robert Maxwell,
later revealed to have acted as a spy for Israel.
Chinn, a longtime figure in pro-Israel advocacy, has
backed groups such as Labour Friends of Israel.
After the Labour Party took office last year, an analysis
by Declassified UK, found that half of Prime Minister
Keir Starmer’s cabinet had received funding from
Israel-aligned donors - with Chinn - among the
most prominent.
“I’ve spent my entire life --- working for Israel,” Chinn said
during a meeting in 2013. In January, he was awarded
the Medal of Honour by the Israeli president for his
“contribution to Israel and the Jewish people.”
Although the last-minute replacement of Chamberlain
was unusual within the British legal system, it was
not without precedent.
A similar switch occurred earlier this year - in the case
brought by the Palestinian human rights organisation
al-Haq, which challenged the British government
--------- over its role in exporting F-35 bomber
components to Israel.
In that case, Karen Steyn --- was one of two judges who
stepped in to replace Chamberlain, and she ultimately
ruled in Israel’s favour.
On 10 June 2022, Swift ruled in favour of the UK Government
that the deportation flights of unsuccessful asylum seekers
in the UK to Rwanda ----- should be allowed to proceed, as there was ''material public interest'' in doing so.
He added in his ruling, that the risk posed to
refugees was "in the realms of speculation".
On 8 June 2023, Swift ruled in favour of the UK Government ------ and rejected the appeal of Julian Assange's legal team.
Meanwhile, campaigners were once again arrested
this week.. for holding signs expressing support
for Palestine Action.
Palestine Action has focused much of its campaign
on Elbit Systems UK --- Israel’s largest weapons
manufacturer, which it accuses of supplying
weapons to the Israeli military during the
regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.
In July, the UN human rights chief sharply criticized
Britain’s ban on the activist group, calling it a
“disturbing” misuse of the UK’s counter
terrorism laws ---- and urging the
government ---- to reverse
the decision.
Image: Norman Finkelstein's Birth Day
Today, December 8th, in 1953,
Norman Finkelstein,
political scientist and activist,
who opposes Israeli nazis,
is born.
Norman Gary Finkelstein's primary fields of research are the
politics of the Holocaust and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Finkelstein was born in New York City to Jewish Holocaust-survivor
parents. He is a graduate of Binghamton University - and received
his Ph.D. in political science - from Princeton University. He has
held faculty positions at Brooklyn College, Rutgers University,
Hunter College, New York University, and DePaul University,
where he was an assistant professor from 2001 to 2007.
In 2006, the department and college committees at DePaul University
voted to grant Finkelstein tenure. For undisclosed reasons.......... the
university administration did not tenure him, and he announced his
resignation after coming to a settlement with the university.
Finkelstein rose to prominence in 2000 after publishing The Holocaust
Industry, a book in which he writes, that the memory of the Holocaust
is exploited as an ideological weapon to provide Israel with immunity
from criticism. He is a critic of Israeli policy and its supremicism.
The Israeli government barred him from entry to the country for
ten years in 2008. Finkelstein has called Israel the "Jewish
supremacist state", and views it as committing the crime
of apartheid against the Palestinian people.
Through personal accounts in one of his books, he compares the
plight of the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation with the horrors of the Nazis.
Finkelstein's most recent book --- on Palestine and Israel,
published in 2018 is Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom.
Finkelstein has said of his parents that "they saw the world through
the prism of the Nazi Holocaust. They were eternally indebted -- to
the Soviet Union (to whom they attributed the defeat of the Nazis)
- so anyone who was anti-Soviet they were extremely harsh on".
They supported the Soviet Union's approval of the creation of the
State of Israel, as enunciated by Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko,
who said that Jews had earned the right to a state, but saw
that Israel had sold its soul to the West and "refused to
have any truck with it".
According to Finkelstein, his involvement in the Israeli–Palestinian
conflict began in 1982, when he and a handful of other Jews in
New York protested against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
He held a sign up, saying: "This son of survivors of the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Auschwitz, Maijdenek
will not be silent: Israeli Nazis – Stop the
Holocaust in Lebanon!"
He has written scathing academic reviews of several prominent
writers and scholars who, he says, misrepresent facts in order
to defend Israel's policies and practices.
His writings have dealt with topics such as Zionism, the
demographic history of Palestine, and the existence of
a "Holocaust industry" - that exploits the memory of
the Holocaust to further Israeli political interests.
Because of his outspoken criticism of Israel, Finkelstein has
received death threats and harassment. In February 2025,
he was harassed by the right-wing Zionist group Betar.
While he was on the street, some members of the
group gave him pagers, as a reference to the
2024 pager attacks in Lebanon.
''I think Israel -- as a number of commentators pointed out,
is becoming an insane state. And, we have to be honest
-- about that. While the rest of the world wants peace,
Europe wants peace, the US wants peace --- but this
state wants war, war and war. It is a lunatic state.''
''The big difference --- between political correctness and woke politics,
is political correctness was really marginal, a few campus radicals,
but the Democratic Party has instrumentalized identity politics to
displace what was once its base --- the trade union movement.
Identity politics.. has infiltrated most of what you would call
liberal culture and so its impact, the dangers it poses, are
much more significant. Identity politics has appropriated
those causes ---------- the women's question, the African-
American question, but lopped off the class element.''
"I am an old-fashioned communist".
Israeli universities -------- face
growing academic isolation
despite Gaza ceasefire,
report says
November 25th, 8:39am (PressTV)
The academic boycott of Israeli universities in Europe has
doubled, even after the Gaza ceasefire aimed at ending
the occupying regime’s genocidal war against the
besieged Gaza Strip.... a move that further
isolates Tel Aviv --- in global higher
education, a new report says.
The Academic Boycott of Israel Monitoring Team, created by
the Committee of University Presidents in Tel Aviv, said in a
report on Monday that academic boycotts targeting the
regime have surged, with around 1,000 cases
reported in Europe by November.
It stressed that Israel’s negative image, which has persisted even
after the ceasefire over the genocidal war against Gaza -- is “so
deeply entrenched that political moves alone are not enough
to shift public perception.”
Contrary to expectations that the boycott would ease following the
ceasefire, the report notes that “the opposite occurred,” with
institutions and individual academics more frequently
filing boycott cases.
The monitoring team, whose report was published by The Marker,
the economic version of the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz ---- also
warned that this expanding boycott could isolate Israeli higher
education significantly and pose a long-term strategic threat
to its international standing.
The report further identified concrete consequences for the move,
including a drop in EU Horizon Europe research grants for Israeli
scholars, exclusion from international cooperation projects,
and a breakdown in collaborative programs.
The Association of University Heads in Israel has reportedly
recorded over 1,000 incidents of academic boycotts over
the last two years, three times the total as of a year ago.
According to the report, 57 percent of cases involve individual
researchers (mainly being excluded from research groups),
22 percent are institutional severances, seven percent
are from professional associations, and 14 percent
relate to halted student exchanges or
postdoctoral partnerships.
It also said that this crippling boycott trend --- is unlikely to reverse
soon without “major regional and geopolitical changes,” warning
that sustained isolation of Israeli academia may continue.
The boycott movement “will accompany Israeli academia for
a long time and will not ease without major regional and
geopolitical changes,” the report noted.
Israel has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, most of them women
and children, and injured over 170,900 others in Gaza since
October 7, 2023, according to Gaza's Health Ministry,
when it launched a brutal war against the
Palestinian territory.
Despite a ceasefire announced in October,
Israel continues to target Gaza -------
in violation of the agreement.
Hamas has urged the guarantors of the ceasefire, namely Qatar,
Turkey, Egypt, and the United States, to press Israel to abide
by the deal ---- and stop its attacks on Gaza.
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.
**************************************
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.
