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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.”
Petro: US attacks on ground targets in
Colombia would mean a declaration
of war
by Alexey Natin
December 3rd, 12:04am
(Gazeta.ru)
US attacks on ground targets in Colombia will mean a
declaration of war. This --- was stated by Colombia's
President Gustavo Petro, on his social media page,
commenting on the words of US President Donald
Trump - that Colombia may become an object of
attack --- due to the production of cocaine in
the country.
Petro invited Trump to visit Colombia.. to participate
in the destruction of nine laboratories, "which we
destroy every day ------- to prevent cocaine from
entering the United States."
"During my reign ---- I have destroyed 18,400 laboratories
without using missiles. Come with me, and I will show
you how they are destroyed — one laboratory every
40 minutes. But do not threaten our sovereignty,
or you will awaken the Jaguar. Attacking our
sovereignty is a declaration of war. Do not
destroy two centuries of diplomatic
relations," he wrote.
According to him, if any country helped stop the thousands
of tons of cocaine that entered the US, it was Colombia.
Trump announced his readiness to destroy drug
factories in Colombia back in mid-November.
Earlier, Trump announced imminent strikes
against drug traffickers ----- on land.
_____________________________________
US military’s Venezuela push
echoes old playbook... for
‘regime change’ and
oil grab: Expert
by Mohammad Ali Haqshenas
December 2nd, 11:49am
(PressTV)
The US military buildup against Venezuela is part of a long- standing pattern of attempts to reshape Latin America, and today’s military threats - are aimed squarely at "regime change" in Caracas and securing control of the country’s vast oil resources,
says an expert.
Sandew Hira, secretary of the Decolonial International Network
Foundation (DIN) and a noted expert on de-colonial studies,
told Press TV website - in an interview, that Washington’s
current threats against Caracas mirror earlier episodes
of US interventionism across the region.
“The military threat against Venezuela fits in a long history of
military interventions by the USA - in Latin America and the
Caribbean,” said Hira, whose real name is Dew Baboeram.
He traced that history back to the mid-19th century, recalling
the US annexation of large parts of Mexico... before the
abolition of slavery.
After the Civil War, he noted, a victorious liberal capitalist system
"focused on building an economic empire for US companies,”
and that push ---- defined decades of US involvement in
the hemisphere.
The analyst and author pointed to the 1898 Spanish-American War,
which resulted in the US occupation of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam,
and the Philippines, and to President Theodore Roosevelt’s
support for Panama’s separation from Colombia in 1903
to secure a canal zone.
Hira noted that US troops “intervened multiple times”
in the following decades - and later invaded Cuba,
Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic,
Honduras, Guatemala, and Grenada.
He said Washington also orchestrated coups across the region to
install far-right governments, listing Guatemala in 1954, Brazil in
1964, Chile in 1973, Uruguay in 1973, and Argentina in 1976.
To illustrate the mindset behind such actions, he quoted Maj. Gen.
Smedley Butler, who famously described himself as “a high-class
muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers,”
and “a racketeer; a gangster for capitalism.”
Butler’s account, the decolonial expert said, captured
the consistent logic ----- of US power projection.
“Venezuela is the next on the list of the US military,
and it's not about drugs, but about oil,” Hira said.
He asserted that US sabre-rattling in Latin America today
reflects this same pattern. The goal, he said, is not
counternarcotics, but political engineering.
“The aim of the US military action is regime change,” he noted,
adding that Venezuela has held repeated elections with
broad participation --- and retains a strong base of
pro-government mobilization.
Hira, however, stated that any bombing campaign against people in
Latin American countries could inflict damage on infrastructure,
“but it cannot destroy the spirit of resistance.”
Ordinary Venezuelans, he added, oppose war --- and would
rally around the government, especially if foreign forces
intervened. In the event of a ground invasion, he said
the US would face not only the Venezuelan army
but.... “millions of militia members.”
The remarks come as Washington has expanded
its military footprint in waters near Venezuela.
Over recent months, the US Navy has deployed the USS Harry S.
Truman strike group to the Atlantic and intensified attacks
under the guise of anti-narcotics enforcement.
Since September ------ US forces have conducted more than 20 lethal
strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing over 80 people,
with human rights bodies slamming them as extrajudicial killings.
The threats have not stopped there. Over the weekend, the US President Donald Trump used a social media platform...... to claim that airlines should treat Venezuela’s airspace as “entirely closed.”
Caracas condemned the threat as political
posturing, aimed at isolating the country.
The uthorities revoked the licenses of six international airlines
that halted operations, for aligning with US pressure and
contributing to “state terrorism.”
Venezuela subsequently slammed the move as a “colonial threat.”
In a formal statement, it rejected Washington’s attempt to assert
extraterritorial jurisdiction over its airspace, saying the move -
endangered the country’s “territorial integrity, aeronautical
security and full sovereignty.”
It described the warning as “another extravagant,
illegal --- and unjustified --- aggression.”
Hira said the Venezuelans view such pressure through the lens
of decades of political education.... adding that the country’s
electoral cycle, since Hugo Chávez’s rise to power in 1998,
has produced a population well-versed in recognizing
foreign interference.
“Each election is a massive campaign ----- in education of
how imperialism works,” he told the Press TV website,
describing repeated electoral victories by Chavistas
---- as a reflection of that political awareness and
organizational strength.
Tensions have also deepened as Washington signaled potential
ground action. In his Thanksgiving message to troops, Trump
suggested that the US could “very soon” take action by land
against Venezuela. Days before that, the deployment of the
USS Gerald R. Ford marked one of the largest US military
presences in the Caribbean ---- in decades.
The Venezuelan government has warned ----- that such moves
are tied to US ambitions over the country’s natural resources.
President Nicolás Maduro, in a letter to OPEC members and the
group’s secretary general, said Washington intends “to take
control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest on the
planet, through the use of lethal military force.”
He said - the claim undermines global energy stability
and violates the principles of peaceful coexistence.
Maduro insisted that Venezuela will defend its resources
with “legality and dignity” ---- and will not succumb to
threats or coercion.
Hira echoed that sentiment, saying Venezuelans understand
the stakes and remain committed to preserving the gains
of the Bolivarian Revolution.
He said the country’s resistance is rooted in political
consciousness, and historical experience. Previous
attempts by the US to cultivate opposition forces,
especially since 2015, have failed, he argued,
because they lacked organic support and
underestimated the depth of the
popular movement.
He said US-backed strategies misread the country’s
institutions and society, which he described as
strongly shaped ----------- by decades of
participatory politics.
The threats.. may escalate, he said, but they
reinforce rather than weaken national unity.
“There is a popular revolution,” he said, and
a population prepared to defend it.
In that sense, he added, Washington’s push toward
confrontation exposes the limits of its power. A
campaign aimed at regime change, he said,
overlooks the resilience of Venezuela.
“It will strengthen the support for the revolution, because
ordinary Venezuelans are against war,” he said. “If a
ground war takes place, then the US military has
to deal not only with the army, but also with
millions of militia members.”
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 has expanded its
control zone in Gaza
December 2nd, 9:45pm
(Izvestia.ru)
Israel has expanded its control zone in the Gaza Strip
to 58% of the territory, going beyond the so-called
"yellow line," Fatah movement's spokesman in
the Gaza Strip, Munzer al-Hayek, told Izvestia.
"Israel has expanded its control zone to 58% of the Gaza Strip's
geographical territory. This means a further encroachment on
the space inhabited by approximately 2.4 million Palestinians.
These are areas that are already cut off, and this move has
a highly negative impact," said Munzer al-Hayek.
He said that Palestinians in Gaza continue to live in tents, many
of which have been in use for more than a year ---- and cannot
withstand the weather conditions.
"The water in Gaza is polluted. In the tent areas, sewage,
rainwater, and sewage water mix, and it flows inside,
spreading insects and mosquitoes," a Fatah
spokesperson said.
________________________________________________
Qatarwarns ----Israel's ceasefire
violations threaten Gaza truce,
pushes for second stage
December 2nd, 7:19pm
(PressTV)
Qatar has warned that Israeli violations of the Gaza
ceasefire are troubling ....even as Doha works to
maintain the truce in the besieged territory.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Qatar Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the country
continues to monitor the agreement and is
striving to prevent the ceasefire
from collapsing.
He stressed that Israeli breaches “threaten
the agreement and weaken its impact.”
“This is the longest ceasefire” since Israel’s genocidal war
began more than two years ago, al-Ansari noted, adding
that efforts are ongoing to turn the current truce into
the second phase of the Gaza agreement.
"We think that we should be pushing the parties to
stage two very, very soon,” the spokesman stated.
During the first phase of the so-called Gaza peace plan,
initially outlined by US President Donald Trump,
Palestinian resistance group Hamas and its
allies were due to return all 48 captives
they held, 20 of whom were still alive.
Hamas and the Palestinian resistance factions have
largely remained committed to the ceasefire deal.
The Qatari spokesperson added that the return of the
remains of Israeli captives should not impede
progress towards the second stage of
the agreement.
"As we have always said, the logistical situation in Gaza
would certainly make it difficult to reach this result,"
Ansari said, referring to the return of the bodies.
Under the second phase of the deal, Israel is to withdraw
from its positions in the besieged territory, an interim
authority is to govern Gaza, and an international
stabilization force is to be deployed.
The plan is based on Trump's 20-point project for Gaza's
future, including only a single line ....that envisions the
''possibility'' of a future Palestinian state.
The agreement outlines a Trump-chaired "Board of Peace"
to oversee affairs in the besieged Palestinian territory
as a transitional authority. It also authorizes an
"international stabilization force" that would
ensure the "demilitarization" of Gaza.
Rights groups and activists last month denounced the UN
Security Council’s adoption of a resolution backing the
US plan for foreign forces in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Hamas resistance movement and other Palestinian factions,
including Islamic Jihad ----- have condemned the resolution for
imposing an “international guardianship” over Palestinians.
The Israeli enemy went ahead with attacks in south Lebanon
on Tuesday, in violation of the ceasefire which ended the
brutal Israeli war on Lebanon in late 2024.
This morning, an enemy drone dropped a sound bomb near
fishermen off the coast of Ras al-Naqoura, causing panic
among civilians working in the border coastal area,
Al-Manar's correspondent reported.
Earlier, our reporter said that an Israeli quadcopter
dropped explosives on a house in the southern
border town of Aitaroun.
The attack on a house in Al-Mattait Neighbourhood,
took place after midnight on Monday, according to
our correspondent.
The attacks on Tuesday were preceded by other Israeli
violations on Monday, when the outskirts of Kfar
Shouba and Shebaa as well as Bastara Farm
came under machine gunfire by Israeli
enemy forces stationed in Radar,
Sammaqa and Ramtha.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
________________________________
Palestinian photojournalist killed
in Israeli drone strike on
southern Gaza
December 2nd, 11:15am
(PressTV)
Local authorities in the Gaza Strip say a Palestinian photojournalist
has been killed - in an Israeli aerial attack on the southern part of
the coastal sliver, in the latest attack on reporters, amid the Tel
Aviv regime’s ongoing violations of a ceasefire...... that took
effect on October 10.
The officials said Mahmoud Wadi lost his life on Tuesday afternoon
when an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle targeted an area in the
city of Khan Yunis ------- beyond the so-called yellow line.
The so-called yellow line is a temporary demarcation
boundary inside the Gaza Strip to which Israeli
forces agreed to withdraw... as part of the
first phase of the truce deal.
Meanwhile, there are reports of artillery shelling and heavy
gunfire from Israeli helicopters inside the so-called yellow
line --- east of Khan Yunis.
In the Tuffah neighbourhood --- east of Gaza City, Israeli forces
also demolished residential buildings inside the "yellow line."
Over 200 journalists demand unrestricted
media access to Gaza amid Israeli siege
Hundreds of prominent international journalists have called for
an immediate and unhindered foreign press access to the
besieged Gaza Strip.
With Israel maintaining its restriction on foreign journalists
entering Gaza, Palestinian reporters serve as the sole
direct sources of information from within the
conflict zone.
The Federation of News Agencies of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed deep concern
over the continued targeting and killing of Palestinian
journalists by Israeli forces.
The federation emphasized that the ongoing developments
in Gaza constitute a clear violation of international laws
and norms.
It argued that the actions are accompanied by Israeli measures
infringing upon press and media freedom --- alongside efforts
to suppress truth, stifle dissent, conceal daily violations,
and tohinder the dissemination of true realities........
to the international audience.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have caused the deaths
of at least 70,000 individuals, the majority being women
and children, during a two-year genocidal campaign
in Gaza.
The onslaught has caused extensive destruction to homes
and civilian infrastructure, leaving the territory's
remaining residents in a critical situation.
Various international organizations, such as the UN
Independent International Commission of Inquiry,
plus the International Association of Genocide
Scholars, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem,
and several other human rights groups,
have determined ---- that the Israeli
military actions in Gaza, amount
to genocide.
____________________________________
Two Palestinians Martyred, & Two
Israelis Injured in the West Bank
December 2nd, 10:22am
(al Manar)
Two Palestinians were martyred on Tuesday and two Israeli
soldiers were injured in Ramallah and (Al-Khalil) Hebron in
the occupied West Bank.
A Palestinian was martyred after being shot by Israeli occupation
forces as he attempted to stab two Israeli soldiers near an illegal
Israeli settlement in Ramallah, the occupied central West Bank.
A statement by the occupation military said that the army forces
“shot dead the individual who stabbed the Israeli soldiers”
during a search in the so-called settlement of Ateret.
According to the occupation military, the soldiers approached
the young man for questioning when he “suddenly lunged at
them with a knife.”
Occupation troops opened fire moments later, killing him at the
scene. The occupation army said the circumstances “are still
being examined”, and reinforcements have been called to
the area, as routine checks continue.
The martyr was identified by the Palestinian Authority health
ministry as Mohammed Asmar, 18, from the nearby village
of Beit Rima.
Public broadcaster KAN reported that the
two Israeli soldiers were lightly injured.
The stabbing came on the heels of another incident late on
Monday. A female Israeli soldier was struck by a vehicle
outside Al-Khalil (Hebron), prompting a large search
effort through the night.
The occupation army claimed the driver accelerated toward
troops stationed at the junction and injured the soldier
before speeding away. Soldiers fired at the fleeing
vehicle and launched a pursuit involving
several units.
By early Tuesday, the occupation army said the suspect was
tracked down in Al-Khalil. Forces located him and moved
to arrest him. They opened fire at him ---- leading to
his martyrdom.
Source: Israeli and Palestinian media
____________________________________
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: Rewi Alley's Birth Day
Today, December 2nd, in 1897,
Rewi Alley,
writer and worker for
China's revolution,
is born.
A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years
of his life to the cause, and was a key figure in the establishment
of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives & technical training schools,
including the Bailie Schools and Peili Vocational Institute (now
Beijing Bailie University), both named after his mentor Joseph
Bailie. Alley was a prolific writer about 20th century China,
and especially the communist revolution. He also
translated numerous Chinese poems.
Rewi was born in the small town of Springfield, in inland
Canterbury, New Zealand. He was named after Rewi
Maniapoto, a Maori chief who famously resisted
the British military during the New Zealand
Wars in the 1860s.
In 1916, Alley joined the New Zealand Army and was sent to
serve in France, where he won the Military Medal. There,
he met workers in the Chinese Labour Corps who had
been sent to work for the Allied armies. During the
war he was injured and caught in no man's land.
Lyall McCallum and another man rescued him
and took him back to safety. After the war,
Alley tried farming in New Zealand.
In 1927, he decided to go to China. His politics turned from
right-wing pro-empire sentiments, to thoughts of reform.
In particular, a famine in 1929 made him aware of the
plight of China's villages. Using his holidays - and
taking time off work, Alley toured rural China
helping with relief efforts.
After a brief visit to New Zealand..... Alley became Chief
Factory Inspector for the Shanghai Municipal Council,
in 1932. By then... he was a secret member of the
Chinese Communist Party and involved in anti-
criminal activities, on behalf of the party.
After the outbreak of war with Japan, in 1937, Alley set up
the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and schools -- which
he naed Bailie Schools after his US friend Joseph Bailie.
Edgar Snow wrote of Alley's work in the CIC: "Where Lawrence
brought to the Arabs the distinctive technique of guerilla war,
Alley was to bring China the constructive technique - of
guerilla industry."
By 1941, Alley was one of the contacts of the Chinese
Communist Party in the English-speaking world. Due
to his purported knowledge of the Chinese way of
war, Colonel Gordon Grimsdale of the Far East
Combined Bureau, interviewed him in
Hong Kong.
Alley was "extremely optimistic on the subject of starting a guerrilla
unit for the indirect defence of the Colony", and proposed to send
"an equipped party to Canton to burn Japanese aeroplanes on
the Canton aerodrome, or to destroy some important bridge".
Alley stressed the importance of introducing pro-Chinese
education for the soldiers .....and he proposed - that the
best man he could suggest as the chief organizer was
Yeh Chieh Ying, a Cantonese Communist general.
In 1945, he became headmaster of the Shandan
Bailie School, after the death of George Hogg.
Following the Communist victory over the Nationalists in 1949,
Alley was urged to remain in China and work for the Chinese
Communist Party. He produced many works praising the
party - and the government of the People's Republic of
China, including ''Yo Banfa!, Man Against Flood'' and
''China's Hinterland in the Great Leap Forward''.
His works have huge historic interest.
Unlike most of the friends of the Chinese Communist Party
who remained in Beijing, Alley had little trouble travelling
around the world, usually lecturing on the need for
nuclear disarmament.
In the 1950s, he is reported to have been offered a knighthood
-- but turned it down. He supported North Vietnam, during the
US' war of aggression against Vietnam. He was.. appointed
a Companion of the Queen's Service Order: for community
service in the 1985 New Year Honours. At the ceremony,
New Zealand's Prime Minister, David Lange... made a
moving and dramatic speech - turned to Alley at its
conclusion and said with sincerity, "New Zealand
has had many great sons, but you, Sir, are our
greatest son."
He died in Beijing on December 27th, 1987. New Zealand
Prime Minister David Lange eulogised him on his 90th
birthday, just weeks before his death.
His house in Beijing, is now the offices of the
Chinese People's Association for Friendship
with Foreign Countries.
In 1996, Jack Body wrote an opera in three acts, "Alley", based
on his life, with libretto by Geoff Chapple. It was performed at
the International Festival of the Arts in Wellington, in 1998.
An extensive memorial to Rewi Alley, has been erected at
Springfield, Canterbury, New Zealand. It contains a large
stone carving and a number of panels --- giving details
of his life.
Opened in 2017 on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of Alley's
birth is a three-story Rewi Alley Memorial Building. The memorial
hall operates as a free public museum, and is within the grounds
of Lanzhou City University Bailie Campus. The Memorial Hall, contains extensive and permanent displays of Rewi Alley's
history, and chronicles his contributions as an educator
and internationalist in China.
''In the thirties, I was involved in the factories in Shanghai and I can
remember seeing sacks in the alleys at the back of the factories.
At first I thought they were sacks of rubbish, but they weren't,
they were dead children. Children worked to death in the
foreign-owned factories. Little bundles of humanity
worked to death for someone's bloody profit.''
''So.. I decided that I would work to help China. I suppose then,
it was like a marriage of sorts and I wrote what I wrote and
said what I said out of loyalty to that marriage. I know
China's faults and contradictions; there are plenty
of those. But I wanted to work for this place
and I still do."
''The price of China breaking free of foreign domination, and the
bad things of its past was enormous. They reckon that it cost
30 million lives to build new China. The West should have a
bit more gratitude --- for the struggle of the Chinese. If it
wasn't for the resistance in China, during the Second
World War, the Japanese would have had tens of
thousands more men, and they may have got
as far as Australia and New Zealand.''
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.
