Rhondda Records is with you every day bringing the news ------- that gives a view of world events different to the mainstream media or social media!
Except Sundays - our day of rest.
Image: we're back!
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 US Department of Justice - has dropped
the main charge. Can Maduro win the trial?
by Lyubov Stepushova
January 6th, 12:14pm
(Pravda.ru)
Maduro's case is falling apart in court with
disastrous consequences -------- for the US.
The US Department of Justice has dropped a key charge
against Maduro, which could lead to the collapse of the
fabricated case. Trump is left with only one hope.
US prosecutors dropped the main charge against Maduro.
The US Department of Justice refused to write in the
indictment that Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro was the leader of the Sun Cartel
drug cartel ------ as the Trump
administration claimed.
According to the NYT, in the indictment, prosecutors claim
that it is a "culture of corruption and patronage," rather
than a real organized crime group. The shift from the
definition of "head of a drug cartel" to "participant
in a corrupt system" will significantly impact the trial and the verdict.
Previously, the prosecution was based on the RICO law (on
corrupt and racketeering-influenced organizations), which
applies to the heads of mafia structures and provides for
long prison sentences, up to life imprisonment (and
even the death penalty).
The recognition that the "Cartel of the Sun" is not a formalized
organized crime group (which was already clear), but rather, a
"culture of corruption," makes it difficult to prove that Maduro
exercised direct operational control over the criminal
organization, i.e., issued orders. This will lead to the
removal of the most serious charges against him.
What awaits Maduro in the new circumstances
Now US prosecutors are focusing on the ''fact'' that Maduro allegedly
allowed drug trafficking to exist in exchange for the political loyalty
and financial benefits, of close associates. In the US legal system,
the role of "accomplice", or "patron"(aiding and abetting) - is less
severely punished than the role of "head of a criminal enterprise" (kingpin). This opens up the possibility for the defense to demand shorter prison terms.
The charge of "narco-terrorism" (which implies the use of drug money
to finance attacks against the United States) will also be blurred due
to the lack of a criminal organization, so Maduro can only face
standard sentences for "drug trafficking". Although these
are still serious figures (from 10-20 years), the
requirement of a "life sentence without
the right to correspond" ----- is
automatically excluded.
The existential question for everyone is whether Maduro will plead
guilty. The softening of legal language in the United States is
often a signal of a willingness to negotiate a deal. By
removing the label of "cartel leader," the U.S.
Department of Justice is leaving room for:
Plea deals: Maduro can plead guilty to corruption charges in
exchange for deportation to a third country or a
reduced sentence.
The charges will be dropped in the future due to lack of evidence.
This makes it easier to exchange or deport him to a third country.
In general, the process risks turning into a complex legal battle
over official corruption, which will be very difficult to prove
if the witnesses remain in Venezuela.
The U.S. is risking the dollar
The U.S. rarely considers the long-term consequences of its actions,
and under Trump, this is especially true. They are undoubtedly
hoping for Maduro to admit his guilt and negotiate with the
Chavistas in exchange for political change in Venezuela.
However, this is 99% impossible (1% can never be ruled out) due to
the ideological conflict. Most likely, the process will turn into an
indictment against US imperialism, which will affect the image
of the United States in the world, and thus the dollar, which
has lost its first place in global reserves to gold --------
for the first time.
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
Israel pushes - to keep Gaza
closed to foreign media
January 5th, 7:23pm
(PressTV)
Israeli authorities are seeking to keep Gaza sealed off
from international scrutiny, telling the supreme court
the ban on foreign journalists - must remain in place.
In a submission filed late on Sunday to the occupation
entity's high court, the authorities claimed.. that
allowing international media to enter Gaza
without a military escort would pose
security risks.
This comes --- as Israeli forces have violated
the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on October 10th, on a daily basis.
The filing comes amid mounting criticism from press freedom
groups, which say the media blackout has helped conceal
the scale of devastation in Gaza since Israel launched
its genocidal war in October 2023.
Since then, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists
from independently entering the territory, leaving coverage
largely dependent on Palestinian reporters ------ working
under relentless bombardment.
Israeli officials also claimed that opening Gaza to international
media at this stage could interfere with efforts to locate the
remains of the last captive held in Gaza.
The case stems from a petition filed in 2024 by the Foreign Press
Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of international
journalists working in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel commits 99 violations against
Palestinian journalists in 1 month:
Press union
The Israeli military carried out nearly 100 violations against
Palestinian journalists in December 2025, including killings,
physical assaults, abductions ---- and bans on media
coverage, according to a Palestinian journalists’
advocacy group.
The FPA has demanded immediate and unrestricted access to Gaza,
arguing that Israel’s sweeping ban ----- amounts to a grave violation
of press freedom.
The high court has granted Israeli authorities several extensions to
submit a plan addressing the issue. At a hearing last month, the
court set Jan. 4 as the final deadline for the state’s response.
While foreign journalists remain excluded, Palestinian journalists
have continued to report from inside Gaza...... at enormous
personal cost.
Press freedom organisations say Israeli attacks on journalists
have proceeded with near-total impunity, with the targeting
of the press intensifying throughout the war.
Late last month, a report said Israeli forces - had killed at least
706 family members of Palestinian journalists since the start
of the war.
Israel killed over 700 relatives of
Palestinian journalists in Gaza:
Report
Syndicate report says --- Israel is using collective
punishment to crush reporting of its genocidal
war in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate’s Freedoms
Committee, Israeli forces killed 436 relatives of journalists
in 2023, 203 in 2024, and at least 67 in 2025.
The report found that Israeli strikes have repeatedly hit journalists’
homes, shelters for displaced families, and areas widely known to
house media workers and their relatives. In several cases,
entire families were wiped out, leaving journalists alive:
to document the destruction of their own households.
In early December, Gaza's government media office said
that 257 Palestinian journalists had been killed by
Israeli forces since October 2023.
At least 420 people have been killed in Gaza since the truce
was enforced three months ago. Overall, at least 71,388
Palestinians have been killed and 171,269 injured
since the war began, according to the
Palestinian health authorities.
______________________________________________
Israel expands northern Gaza occupation
beyond 'yellow line' ------ bombs south
January 5th, 5:31pm
(PressTV)
The Israeli military has spent the past 24 hours expanding
the so-called “yellow line”, stealing more land ----- and
squeezing Palestinians into ever smaller clusters
of the besieged Gaza Strip.
The occupation military’s expansion of the ceasefire line
took place particularly in eastern Gaza City’s Tuffah,
Shujayea, and Zeitoun neighbourhoods on Monday.
The latest reports indicate that Israeli forces were getting
closer to the key artery of Salah al-Din Street, forcing
displaced families sheltering near the area to flee
as more of them come under threat.
Intense artillery bombardment and helicopter fire also resumed
in the areas south of the besieged strip, north and east of the
cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.
The ongoing Israeli attacks on the ground were meant to eat up
more of the territory across the eastern part of the blockaded
Palestinian territory, Al Jazeera reported.
Conditions in Gaza’s neighbourhoods have become severely
overcrowded, with populations in areas such as Zeitoun,
Shujayea, and Tuffah not only doubling but in some
cases tripling.... as residents remain unable to
return to their homes, added the report.
Also on Sunday, Israel launched more attacks into parts of Gaza
outside its direct military control. At least three Palestinians,
including a child, were killed in separate Israeli attacks in
Khan Yunis.
Israel --- already physically occupies
at least 53 percent of the Gaza Strip.
Israel's military chief describes Gaza's
dividing 'yellow line' - as 'new border'
The so-called “yellow line”, introduced under US President
Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, runs from northern
Gaza ----- to the outskirts of Rafah, in the south.
The latest developments come as a winter storm in Gaza
has compounded the misery of hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians living in tents after more than two
years --- of an Israeli genocidal war.
A five-storey building belonging to the al-Shana family in the
Maghazi camp in central Gaza collapsed. It had been
subjected to Israeli bombing at the end of 2023.
The WAFA news agency reported that Civil Defense teams
are searching for missing people under the rubble. At
least five people were injured.
In addition to that, the Israeli military continues to block
a large amount of international humanitarian aid
amassing at the Gaza crossings.
US-brokered 'yellow line' becomes death
line as Israel forces out Gaza residents
Thousands of families have fled their homes as the
Israeli military enforces the so-called yellow line
under a US-brokered Gaza deal.
Despite a US-brokered truce, Israel allows only a fraction
of the promised aid into Gaza, leaving the population
facing intense food insecurity.
Meanwhile, some local media reports said expectations
have heightened around the possible reopening of the
Rafah crossing with Egypt, fueling both desperate
hope --- and deep fear.
For many in Gaza, there is some hope it could offer a lifeline,
allowing the sick and wounded to access medical care.
But others fear it could become a one-way exit, raising
concerns about permanent expulsion, effectively
Israeli ethnic cleansing, and whether those
who leave ...will be allowed to return.
At least 420 people have been killed - since
the ceasefire was enforced 3 months ago.
At least 71,388 Palestinians have been killed and
171,269 injured .....since the start of the war
in October 2023.
______________________________________________
Israeli Enemy Continues Its Attacks
on Lebanese Sovereignty
January 5th, 1:03pm
(al Manar)
The Israeli enemy continues its aggression on Lebanese sovereignty
with a series of aerial attacks and ground violations. Al-Manar’s
correspondent reported that an enemy drone targeted a car
on the main road in Biriqah, located in Nabatieh district.
This incident follows an earlier attack this morning, when an enemy
quadcopter dropped explosive devices near a house in the town of
Khiam, killing chickens in a coop. In a separate aerial attack, the
Israeli occupation army targeted a civilian vehicle with a drone
on Tebnine-Safad al-Batikh-Jmeijmeh road, killing two
Palestinians, according to the Lebanese Ministry
of Health.
Further escalating, a number of Israeli occupation soldiers infiltrated
Lebanese territory later that evening, crossing the technical fence
into the Tallet al-Aasi neighbourhood east of Mays al-Jabal. The
soldiers, carrying flashlights, prompted an immediate
deployment of the Lebanese army to the area, in
coordination with UNIFIL forces, to prevent
further violations.
In another ground violation, an Israeli occupation army force laid
barbed wire approximately 150 metres inside Lebanese territory
in Bab al-Sarawat area east of Tallet Harmoun, opposite the
town of Yaroun. A joint patrol of the Lebanese army and
UNIFIL inspected the site to document and confirm
this new breach of sovereignty.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
_____________________________________
West Bank Raids Widen as Settler Attacks
Escalate: Dozens Detained, Land Seized
January 5th,11:03am
(al Manar)
In a major overnight operation, Israeli occupation forces
conducted a widespread arrest campaign across the
West Bank in the early hours of Monday, detaining
dozens of Palestinians, including a journalist &
a teenager. These occupation military raids
coincided with a surge in violent attacks
and land seizures by Israeli settlers.
The Palestinian Information Centre (PIC) reported that journalist
Inas Ikhlawi was arrested after soldiers raided her home in the
town of Idhna, west of Hebron. Arrests were reported in
multiple governorates:
· Qalqilya: Multiple citizens detained during home raids.
· Ramallah & Al-Bireh: A young man arrested in Silwad town.
· Tulkarem: Raids in the Iktaba suburb and Anabta town,
where 15-year-old Yazan Al-Aloul was detained.
· Tubas & Nablus: Two youths arrested in Wadi
Al-Far’a and a third in Nablus.
· Bethlehem: Over 25 citizens were taken, in what was
described as a sweeping campaign in Aida Refugee
Camp, involving extensive home raids.
Parallel Settler Violence
The occupation military escalation followed a day of intensified
settler attacks on Sunday. In the Bethlehem district, settlers
moved to fence off approximately 15 dunams of olive
groves belonging to the Al-Asakra family ----- in the
Tuqu’ town, in an apparent land seizure attempt.
“The land lies just tens of metres from residential homes,” said
Taysir Abu Mfarreh, the head of the Tuqu’ Municipal Council.
In Nablus, settlers driving a vehicle with Palestinian license plates
entered Beit Dajan village and attempted to assault a resident
and his child on the main road ---- before fleeing when local
villagers intervened.
Additional Occupation Military Incursions
Israeli occupation forces also conducted incursions into several
villages on Sunday evening, though no arrests were reported.
Soldiers raided shops and inspected surveillance cameras
in Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah. Later, forces
deployed in neighbourhoods of Al-Bireh city and
stormed Beitin village, east of Ramallah.
The coordinated enemy raids and settler activities
mark a significant escalation of tensions across
the occupied territory.
Image: Alan Wilson Watts' Birth Day
Today, January the 6th, in 1915,
Alan Watts,
writer, speaker,
and self-styled
"philosophical
entertainer"..
is born.
Alan Wilson Watts.. was known for interpreting and popularising
Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience.
Watts gained a following while working as a volunteer programmer at
the KPFA radio station in Berkeley, California. He wrote more than
25 books and articles on religion and philosophy, introducing the
Beat Generation and the emerging counterculture to The Way
of Zen (1957), one of the first best-selling books on Buddhism.
In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), he argued ----- that
psychotherapy could become a Western way of liberation
--- if it discarded dualism.
After his death, his lectures remained popular with regular
broadcasts on public radio, especially in California and
New York, and found new audiences with the rise of
the internet.
He often said that he wished to act as a bridge
between the ancient and the modern,
between East and West, and
between culture
and nature.
In several of his later publications, especially Beyond Theology
and The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are,
Watts put forward a worldview, drawing on Hinduism,
Chinese philosophy, pantheism or panentheism,
and modern science, in which he maintains
that the whole universe... consists of a
cosmic Self - playing hide-and-seek
(Lila); hiding from itself (Maya) by
becoming all the living and non-
living things in the universe
and forgetting..... what it
really is — the upshot
being, that we are all
IT in disguise (Tat
Tvam Asi).
In this worldview, Watts asserts that our conception of ourselves
as an "ego in a bag of skin" is a myth; the entities we call the
separate "things" ....are merely aspects or features of
the whole.
Regarding his intention for living, Watts attempted to lessen
the alienation that accompanies the experience of being
human, that he felt plagued the modern Westerner,
and to lessen the ill will, that was a by-product
of alienation from the natural world.
He felt such teaching could improve
the world ---- at least, to a degree.
He also articulated the possibilities for a greater incorporation of
aesthetics (for example: better architecture, more art, more fine
cuisine) in Western life. In his autobiography, he said, "Cultural
renewal comes ....when highly differentiated cultures mix".
Though known for his discourses on Zen, he was also influenced
by ancient Hindu scriptures, especially the Vedanta and Yoga,
aspects of which, influenced Chan and Zen.
He spoke extensively about the nature of the divine reality --- that
Man misses: how the contradiction of opposites.. is the method
of life and the means of cosmic and human evolution, how our
fundamental ignorance is rooted in the exclusive nature - the
instinctive grasping at identity, mind and ego, how to come
in touch with the Field of Consciousness and Light, and
other cosmic principles.
Watts sought to resolve his feelings of alienation from the institutions
of marriage and the values of Western society.... as revealed in his
comments on love relationships in "Divine Madness", and on the
perception of the organism-environment in "The Philosophy of
Nature". In looking at social issues, he was concerned with
the necessity for international peace, for tolerance, and
understanding among disparate cultures.
Watts also came to feel acutely conscious of a growing ecological
predicament. Writing, for example, in the early 1960s: "Can any
melting or burning imaginable — get rid of these ever-rising
mountains of ruin — especially when the things we make
and build ...are beginning to look more and more like
rubbish ..even before they are thrown away?"
These concerns were later expressed - in a television pilot filmed at
Druid Heights in 1971. Titled Alan Watts: Conversation with Myself,
the film was produced by KQED, for National Educational TV, and
shown across the US ---- on PBS channels in 1975.
On 16 November 1973, at age 58, he died in the Mandala House in
Druid Heights. His body was discovered at 6am, and quickly
cremated on a wood pyre on Muir Beach at 8:30am
by Buddhist monks --- before any authorities
could attend to the scene.
His ashes were split, with one half buried near his library
at Druid Heights and half at the Green Gulch Monastery.
His son Mark Watts later investigated his father's death
and found.... that he had planned it out meticulously.
Watts had many ''expert'' detractors, but unabashed, Watts
was not averse to acknowledging his rascal nature,
referring to himself in his autobiography
'In My Own Way' as.....
"...a sedentary and contemplative character, an intellectual,
a Brahmin, a mystic and also somewhat of a disreputable
epicurean, who has three wives, seven children, and
five grandchildren".
Spain acts against Israel's illegal settlements,
orders platforms to remove listings
December 30th, 3:10pm
(PressTV)
Spain has ordered seven major online platforms to remove
more than 100 holiday-rental listings located in Israeli-
Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on Tuesday that it
had identified 138 listings on platforms operating in Spain
and notified the companies to “immediately remove or
block” the content.
Authorities warned that failure to comply could result in further
government action, though the penalties were not specified.
The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Pablo Bustinduy, condemned the
listings, saying they help “normalize and perpetuate a colonial
regime considered illegal under international law.”
The move is a part of measures introduced by Prime Minister
Pedro Sanchez’s government to support Palestine and hold
Israel accountable for its genocidal aggression in Gaza.
Sanchez has repeatedly denounced the international community
for oscillating --- between “indifference” and “complicity” with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This latest move builds on a series of measures Spain has adopted
in recent months ---- to confront Israel over its illegal settlement
enterprise and military aggression.
In September 2025, the Spanish government banned imports
of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the
occupied Palestinian territories.
Sanchez said the goal is “to stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue
its perpetrators -------- and support the Palestinian population.”
The Spanish government has prohibited ships and aircraft
carrying weapons directed towards Israel from entering
its ports or airspace.
The country has said that it will ----- deny entry to
anyone directly involved in the atrocities in Gaza.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank -- are considered
illegal under international law, a position upheld by the United
Nations and the majority of the global community.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a
landmark advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of
Palestinian territories illegal -- and calling for the removal
of all settlements from the West Bank and East al-Quds.
Since recognizing the Palestinian state - in 2024, Spain
has been one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s
genocide in Gaza.
Israel has so far killed more than 71,000 Palestinians since
launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023,
before a ceasefire deal, brokered by the United States,
was reached in the strip last October.
Image: No thanks to Israeli goods App
The world and her daughter are calling for a boycott of the genocidal colonial apartheid state of Israel.
Place yourself on the right side of joy and sorrow by joining the world's boycott - say ''no'' to evil!
Keir Hardie - Britain's first Labour MP - opposedWorld War One.
His namesake is stammering his way in the opposite direction.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
ROGER WATERS TO MUSICIANS:- "BOYCOTT ISRAEL"
Roger Waters formerly of Pink Floyd, in an open letter, calls on his fellow musicians --- to boycott the Zionist Israeli regime and follow the example of the cultural boycott against the ex S. African Apartheid regime.
“Given the inability or unwillingness of our governments [to act] …. I write to you now, my brothers and sisters … to ask you to join with me, & thousands of other artists around the world, to declare a cultural boycott on Israel,” Roger Waters says in his letter.
Waters says the Zionist regime has been found guilty of major breaches of human rights and international law by international organizations, UN officials and the International Court of Justice.
He touches on two such cases, saying the regime has been identified as perpetrating the “crime of Apartheid”, including in a statement on March 9th, 2012 by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the “crime of ethnic cleansing” including in East Jerusalem (al-Quds).
Waters adds that he has been a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Israeli regime’s occupation of the Palestinian lands and Tel Aviv’s violations of Palestinian human rights for 7 years, and now wants other musicians to also join the anti-Israeli front.
“Please join me and all our brothers and sisters in global civil society in proclaiming our rejection of Apartheid in Israel & occupied Palestine, by pledging not to perform or exhibit in Israel or accept any award or funding from any institution linked to the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights.”
The former Pink Floyd Musician also says he has recently faced a boycott by the US media after his November 29th, 2012 address at the UN on behalf of the Russell Tribunal.
In the address, he sought accountability for the Zionist regime’s violations of the international law and the lack of United Nations resolve that prevents the Palestinian people from achieving their inalienable rights, especially the right of self-determination.
____________________
AT THE FACTORY
Tickets from
www.wegottickets.com/thefactory
www.ticketweb.co.uk
browse venues in Wales
www.ticketlineuk.com
02920 230130
Cash tickets from:
The Factory, Porth Instrumental Music, Penygraig Spillers Records, Cardiff
Indulge in a delicious cake and a cup of tea while enjoying music and sing-along songs from fantastic Welsh musicians.
Ticket information:
The Cultural Services Booking & Information Line:
08000 147 111 or book online at
www.rct-arts.co.ukÂÂ
*************************************************
Mid Rhondda Modelling Club...
7pm - 9pm
Tonyrefail Comprehensive School Mid Rhondda Modelling Club
has been running for over 30 years.
We meet on a regular basis
& enjoy making models for display.
We encourage both Gentlemen
and Ladies to attend, and also young people aged 12+.
However, Young people under 16, must be accompanied by an adult.
Ticket information
£1 contribution every week. Under 16's free
Telephone Mr. Davies on 01443 686658
************************************************
Comedy In The Laughter Lounge
The Park & Dare Theatre, Treorchy.
COMEDY IN THE LAUGHTER LOUNGE
Join us once a month in the intimate setting of the Laughter Lounge for some top notch comedy with some of the biggest and brightest rising comedians on the circuit.
Laugh? You'll snort like a pig!
Hilarious - TimeOut.
www.rct-arts.co.uk
Rhondda Records exists to express the Rhondda's vision --- when it was confident, powerful, caring, and socialist.
A Rhondda very aware of the media's poisonous tricks -- how they con working class people into attacking each other, or racial groups, or, often, even their best allies and friends... instead of seeing their real enemies:--- an elite who hate the very idea that working people can think, create, or achieve a fairer society.
Thatcher said her proudest achievement was Blair and New Labour - who parachuted in careerists and expenses fiddlers - to stop local Labour members having a say, and who made genuine socialist MPs leave the Labour party in disgust and many members and voters to despair... and the young to stop voting.
Jeremy Corbyn was always attacked because he was trying to reverse all that New Labour corruption --- that's why membership was flooding in all over the UK.
______________________________________
Get Involved!
– If you feel you’ve been ‘purged’, take this online survey:
– Request all your own data that the Labour Party holds on you:
http://www.labour.org.uk/pages/privacy
_______________________________________
IF - YOU THINK you HAVE BEEN UNFAIRLY BARRED:
“Any member who is suspended & intends to appeal the decision should throw in a ‘Subject Access Request in accordance with the Data Protection Act’ --- for ALL data that the Labour Party hold on them.
The Labour Party are Data Controllers and therefore have to, by law, provide you with all material/information they hold on you.”
If anyone is in contact with anyone who was barred from voting --- please can you pass this info on:
The Labour leadership election was under the jurisdiction of the electoral reform services.
If you were unfairly deprived of your vote you can call them on 0208 365 8909 and lodge your complaint, and inform them of your Data Protection request.
https://www.electoralreform.co.uk
The notification letters barring new members did not give a clear reason, or information on how to appeal, so Vox Political suggests that anyone in this situation, could also contact Liz Davies here: http://www.whycantivote.com
She is a barrister --- who can advise members on what to do.
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PONCY LABOUR MPS PROBLEM?
A huge drop in working-class Labour MPs, caused a massive drop in support among voters with similar backgrounds, reveals research seeking to explain why support has dwindled in the party’s heartlands.
The study says past leaders like Kinnock and Blair made a concerted effort to pick “more and more middle-class candidates to run for office, during the 80s and 90s, as part of an effort to rebrand” -- which had initial successes at the ballot box.
But this “conscious electoral strategy” stored up problems, as working-class voters who initially, just didn’t vote in response, now seek an alternative.
The solution?Trust each constituency to put forward its own candidates, and don't impose ‘party-approved’ choices who can't do the job.
Now, unfortunately, there are "entryist" MPs who, for decades, have been groomed by CIA cold war relic organisations -- like the Atlantic Council -- and are now trying to misdirect the Labour Party towards cuts, a militarised police, and a US war agenda... - and their anti-Corbyn slant is hobbling Labour.
‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guide to Reselection and Democratic Accountability by Eric Sim, excellent free advice here:
http://novaramedia.com/2016/07/13/how-can-i- deselect-my-labour-mp-a-short-guide-to- reselection-and-democratic-accountability/ CHRIS BRYANT - SUPPORT THE MEMBERS' LEADERSHIP CHOICE & POLICIES - OR GO!
Chris Bryant, the Rhondda's dodgy MP, was on TV -- as soon as the PLP coup started -- telling us that Jeremy MUST go, because it was the ONLY way to act in the Labour Party's interest...
Chris Bryant's voting record: from TheyWorkForYou.com
On Tuition Fees:
On 27 Jan 2004: Chris Bryant voted in favour of university tuition fees increasing from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees to increase from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted for the introduction of variable university tuition fees (top-up fees) of up to £3,000 per year in place of the previous fixed fee of £1,250 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees to increase from £1,125 per year to up to £3,000 per year, and to make other changes to higher education funding and regulation arrangements.
On 14 Sep 2004: Chris Bryant voted against: the immediate abolition of all tuition fees, the re-introduction of maintenance grants of up to £2,000 for students from low-income homes, and changes to the country's higher education system.
On 14 Sep 2004: Chris Bryant voted to reject the Liberal Democrat policy of abolition of tuition fees.
On 25 May 2016: Chris Bryant was absent for a vote on Queen's Speech - Forcing Schools to Become Academies - Further Rises in University Tuition Fees
On Human Rights:
Consistently voted for introducing ID cards
Almost always voted for requiring the mass retention of information about communications
Generally voted for mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities
On the Environment:
Generally voted against greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas
On Special Interests:
Almost always voted against limits on success fees paid to lawyers in no-win no fee cases
Generally voted against a statutory register of lobbyists
On War or Peace:
Generally voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
Consistently voted for the Iraq war
Consistently voted against an investigation into the Iraq war
Generally voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system
On 2 Dec 2015: Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria [without UN authorisation]
On 2 Dec 2015: Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria [without UN authorisation]
On Independence:
Generally voted for more EU integration
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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.