Logo: Rhondda Records logo 2

Rhondda Records Home Page


Rhondda Records is with you every day
bringing the news ------- that gives a
view of world events different to 
the mainstream media or
social media!

Except Sundays - our day of rest.

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.”


 


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.








 (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))






 

74,475 Scouts, One Stadium — And a

 World Record  — That Guinness 

Wouldn’t Touch

October 13th, 1:23pm

(al Manar)

 

Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City has become a stage 

for history. In 2024, it groaned under the weight of grief 

as hundreds of thousands poured in for the funeral of 

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah — a farewell that eclipsed 

any gathering the stadium had ever known. 

 

Barely a year later, the same arena brimmed again, not with 

mourning but with disciplined rows of uniforms, chants, 

and flags. On October 12, 2025, the Imam Mahdi 

Scouts Association brought together 74,475 

members ----- in what should stand as the

largest single-venue Scout gathering 

in the world.

 

It was an achievement that went far beyond spectacle. Families 

themselves covered the costs of uniforms, transportation, and 

food. Thousands of volunteer leaders spent months mapping 

entrances, exits, seating, and rehearsing performances to 

ensure military-level precision. Scouts filled every tier, 

with their movements coordinated and their chants 

rising in unison.

 

Organizers had tentatively projected the attendance at around
60,000–67,000 — respectable by any standard. But as the 

Commissioner General of Al-Mahdi Scouts Nazih Fayad 

later said, they were blindsided: “We were surprised 

with this huge turnout of 74,475 scouts’ members 

from all over Lebanon.” He added, with a hint of 

dry regret, “If Beirut’s Sports City had been 

larger, we would have seen a grander 

scene.” Families, he insisted, bore 

the cost themselves, of transport,

uniforms, and meals - with no 

foreign sponsorship - or 

government largesse.

 

The internal machinery........ behind the spectacle was equally 

staggering. Over 8,000 volunteer leaders and staff worked for 

months, coordinating entrances, exits, bus routes, seating by 

age bracket, artistic displays, and field shows. The stadium 

was partitioned into sectors by region (Beirut, Mount 

Lebanon, the Bekaa, the North, Jabal Amel -- 1 & 2), 

each with its own gates and paths to avoid chaos. 

 

Scouts were seated by division — Cubs and Brownies low, 

Scouts/Guides mid, Rovers high — each square led by 

a responsible leader who escorted participants to

 their spot.

 

The program included choreographed displays, musical 

performances, banners, and synchronized movement — 

all under a massive visual tribute to the late leaders 

Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah...  and Sayyed Hashem 

Safieddine. Scouts waved portraits of martyrs, 

raised Lebanese and Mahdi flags, and recited 

solidarity chants for Gaza, Yemen, and Iran. 

 

The organizers’ ambition was clear: this 

was not just a scouting gathering, but 

a mass political statement.

 

And now - comes the striking contradiction: despite delivering an 

event of a scale unmatched in global Scouting, Guinness World 

Records refused to engage. Fayad publicly stated that GWR 

never responded to their application; worse, their response, 

he asserted, was dismissive: “They said they don’t deal 

with such parties.” That answer ---- in Fayad’s view, 

embodied bias, and politicization —  a refusal to 

treat non-Western, non-secular, or non-neutral 

actors... on an equal footing.

 

One must ask: does Guinness only certify records when they 

are politically convenient? Is the world’s so-called authority 

on human achievement, now picking and choosing, which 

humanity it acknowledges?

 

Guinness has, in fact, certified Scouts in the past — for seemingly 

trivial, but quantifiable feats ( the largest bubble wrap popping, 

piggyback races, and coordinated screams) - so their silence 

here is not from an inability to verify Scout events per se. 

 

But when an Arab, Lebanese, politically engaged Scout movement 

stages what could be the largest single-venue Scout gathering in 

history, the world’s most celebrated record book....... looks the 

other way.

 

To assess the claim --- we have to look outward: the World Scout 

Jamboree is the marquee in-person gathering in global Scouting. 

Jamborees routinely draw tens of thousands of participants 

(both youth and adult staff). For instance:

 

• The 23rd World Scout Jamboree (2015,

 Japan) drew 33,628 participants.

 

• The 25th Jamboree (2023, S. Korea) 

recorded 43,000 from 158 countries.

 

• Earlier Jamborees in Sweden and the UK

 also exceeded 40,000 in participation.

 

• Historical records cite a Jamboree in England 

circa 1929 with more than 50,000 permanent 

attendees (not counting visiting-day surges).

 

• Largest recurring (digital/radio) Scout event: 

JOTA-JOTI regularly reports 1.1–1.3 million+ 

participants worldwide in recent years. This 

is the largest Scouting event by participation, 

but it’s a distributed on-air/online event, not
a single in-person gathering.

 

• Bharat Scouts and Guides’ International Cultural 

Jamboree in India, was attended by 55,000 

Scouts and Guides in December 2022.

 

Even accounting for these high benchmarks, none approach 

the nearly 75,000 mark achieved in Beirut — and all were 

held in far more resource-rich settings. If Guinness had 

accepted the challenge, this Lebanese event would 

likely ---- rewrite the global benchmark.

 

But the greater implication lies in the refusal itself. If Guinness 

treats Scout achievements only when they align with its 

geopolitical comfort zone, then its claim to being a 

neutral arbiter is hollow. If it declines events 

because of their political associations or 

because the organizing body is deemed 

undesirable, then the “global record 

keeper” is practicing censorship 

by omission.

 

No jamboree in Sweden, no rally in the US, no scouting camp in 

Japan has ever matched it. Let the record be clear: 74,475 

Scouts filled a Lebanese stadium in a spectacle of 

coordination, devotion, and political symbolism 

no scouting body anywhere can claim. 

 

That number may or may not carry a Guinness certificate 

in its name, but it stands undeniable. And if Guinness 

refuses to validate it, that silence speaks louder 

....than any certificate ever could.

 

 

Source: Al-Manar English Website

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

 

Iran Will not Take Part, in

Sharm El-Sheikh Summit

October 13th, 1:12pm

(al Manar)

 

Iran won’t take part in the summit taking place in Egypt’s Sharm 

El-Sheikh on Gaza ceasefire, Tehran announced on Sunday.

 

Iran’s presidential information office announced that

President Masoud Pezeshkian has declined Egypt’s 

formal invitation to attend the summit.

 

According to the announcement, Foreign Minister Abbas 

Araghchi briefed the Iranian cabinet on the invitation 

and Iran’s decision to reject it.

 

Meanwhile, Araghchi explained the reason for 

not attending the Sharm El Sheikh summit.

 

In a post on X, the top Iranian diplomat stated: “Iran is grateful 

for President El-Sisi’s invitation to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh 

Summit. While favouring diplomatic engagement, neither 

President Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counter-

parts who have attacked the Iranian People and 

continue to threaten and sanction us.”

 

He stressed, meanwhile, that Tehran welcomes any initiative that 

ends the Israeli genocide in Gaza, underlining that “Palestinians 

are fully entitled to secure their fundamental right of self-

determination, and all States remain obliged, more 

than ever, to assist them in their lawful and 

legitimate cause.”

 

“Iran has always been, and will always remain, a vital force for 

peace in the region. Contrary to the genocidal Israeli regime, 

Iran is not after Forever Wars — particularly on the cash of 

its purported allies, but seeks Forever Peace, Prosperity, 

and Cooperation,” he concluded.

 

The Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh will host a so-called “peace”

 summit on Monday aimed at ending the Gaza war. The summit, 

co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US 

President Donald Trump, will include leaders from over 20 

countries, and the Gaza ceasefire agreement, is 

expected to be formally signed at the event.

 

 

Source: Iranian media (edited by Al-Manar)

 

 

_________________________________

 

 

 

Trump Announces “War is Over” ahead

 of Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh

October 13th, 12:11pm

(al Manar)

 

US President Donald Trump visited the occupied Palestinian 

territories on Monday ahead of a visit to Egypt’s Sharm 

El-Sheikh where he will take part in a so-called 

peace summit.

 

Speaking to journalists at the Knesset.... Trump responded 

“yes” to a question on whether the war in Gaza has ended.

 

“This is a great day,” he said, standing alongside Prime 

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “This is a whole new 

beginning, and I think there’s never been an 

event like it.”

 

“The love in the streets has just been incredible,” 

Trump said. “It’s just been a great day.”

 

Asked about what will happen to Hamas 

if it doesn’t comply with the ceasefire, 

he responded, “They’ll comply.”

 

Netanyahu then held a meeting with Trump in his office 

in the Knesset, according to the premier’s office.

 

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law 

Jared Kushner, who has also been involved in the

ceasefire negotiations, were also in 

the meeting.

 

They then met with hostage families 

and former captives in the Knesset.

 

Earlier on Monday, the US president was welcomed by 

Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog at Ben 

Gurion Airport.  As they walked down the red carpet,

Trump said to Herzog and Netanyahu, “It’s a great 

day. Maybe your best day.”

 

Netanyahu Won’t Take Part in Egypt Summit

 

Meanwhile, Hebrew media initially reported that Trump and 

Netanyahu were “considering the possibility” of the Israeli 

PM joining the so-called peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

 

Israeli Channel 12 reported that, in a call apparently brokered 

by Trump at the Knesset, Netanyahu accepted an invitation 

by Egypt's President Abdel Fatah El-Sissi to join the 

international summit on Trump’s Gaza peace 

plan in Sharm El-Sheikh today.

 

The Egyptian Presidency then confirmed that 

Netanyahu will participate in the summit.

 

Israeli media then reported that Netanyahu has declined the 

invitation, “because of the Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah 

holiday that begins tonight.”

 

 

Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar)

 

 

_______________________________________

 

 

 

2K Palestinian detainees freed, defy 

occupation ---- with mass welcome

October 13th, 12:02pm

(Al Mayadeen English)

 

Liberated Gaza detainees arrive as Hamas hails a
resistance victory --------- despite the occupation
attempts to ban gatherings.

 

Palestine's Prisoners' Information Office confirmed, that the first of

38 buses carrying Palestinian detainees from Gaza - has departed

 en route to the Strip ---- marking a significant phase in the
large-scale exchange deal underway....... as part of the
Gaza ceasefire agreement.

 

According to the media director of the Prisoners' Affairs Office, 

several detainees who have spent decades behind bars, are 

among those being freed. A total of 154 prisoners will travel 

abroad, while others will return to their homes in the West 

Bank, occupied al-Quds, and Gaza.

 

The director noted - that the occupation attempted to
evade its obligations under the agreement... as it
has, in previous deals. 


However, the Palestinian Resistance insisted on confirming

 the agreed-upon names, including long-term detainees and

 those captured from Gaza. "We made improvements to the 

list of prisoners, especially those detained from the 

Gaza Strip," it added.

 

In Khan Younis, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported that large 

crowds gathered to welcome the liberated detainees, with flags 

of Hamas and Islamic Jihad raised in celebration. Meanwhile, 

in the West Bank, buses carrying released detainees arrived 

in Ramallah, where people assembled at the Ramallah 

Cultural Palace - to greet them.

 

Reuters reported -- that 1,966 Palestinian detainees had been 

prepared for release earlier in the day, boarding buses inside 

Israeli prisons. Among them, 250 prisoners serving life 

sentences are expected to be released to the West 

Bank, occupied al-Quds, and locations abroad.

 

On that note, the Israeli occupation ------ has intensified efforts to 

suppress public celebrations in occupied al-Quds and the West 

Bank after the release of Palestinian detainees on Monday 

under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

 

According to Siraj Abu Arafa ---- a lawyer with the Wadi Hilweh 

Information Centre in al-Quds, the Israeli intelligence service 

summoned the families of detainees set to be released, 

pressing them to sign conditional release agreements.

 

Abu Arafa explained that the imposed conditions include a ban 

on public gatherings, assemblies, or any form of celebration. 

He added that each liberated detainee would be escorted 

directly to their home by an intelligence vehicle ----- to 

enforce compliance with these restrictions.

 

Hamas: 'Israel' forced to accept Resistance's conditions

 

On another note, in a statement on Monday, Hamas highlighted 

the failure of PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military, 

after two years of a brutal war of extermination, to forcibly 

recover their captives. Hamas stressed --- that the 

occupation was ultimately forced to accept the 

resistance’s conditions, reiterating that the 

only path to returning their soldiers was 

through a negotiated exchange and a 

complete halt to the aggression.

 

The movement emphasized that the resistance made every effort 

to preserve the lives of the captives, despite ongoing attempts 

by what it described as the "war criminal Netanyahu and his 

terrorist army" to target and eliminate them. In contrast, 

the statement pointed out that Palestinian detainees 

in Israeli jails are subjected to systematic abuse,

 torture, and murder.

 

Hamas further stated that the liberation of its "heroic detainees," 

many of whom are serving life or long-term sentences and have 

spent decades behind bars, is the result of the Gaza Strip’s 

resilience, and the bravery of the Resistance.

 

 

Source: Agencies

 

 

__________________________________________


 

 

New report: details extensive Israeli 

arson in Gaza --- after the ceasefire

October 13th, 11:36am

(Al Mayadeen English)

 

A new DropSite investigation reveals that Israeli forces conducted 

a large-scale arson campaign across Gaza City, torching homes 

and key infrastructure, including a major sewage plant, just 

hours after Trump announced the ceasefire agreement.

 

DropSite published on Monday a gruesome report - revealing that 

Israeli forces carried out a sweeping campaign of arson in Gaza 

City immediately after US President Donald Trump announced 

that both the Resistance and "Israel" ....had agreed to

 the ceasefire.

 

According to the investigation, the Israeli army set fire to homes, 

public buildings, and vital infrastructure, including the Sheikh 

Ajlin sewage treatment plant, Gaza City's last functioning 

sanitation facility, just hours after the ceasefire 

was declared.

 

The report documents how troops from multiple brigades, including 

the Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir, and the newly formed ultra-Orthodox 

Hashmonaim Brigade, posted photos and videos online showing 

buildings engulfed in flames as they withdrew to the so-called 

"yellow line" outlined in the Trump-brokered agreement.

 

One soldier from the Kfir Brigade shared an image of himself 

in front of a fire, writing, "On Friday, just before departure. 

Burning food - so that it won't reach the Gazans, may 

their names be erased." Another captioned a photo 

of the burning sanitation facility, calling it "[one] 

last memory."

 

The Sheikh Ajlin plant, which served as the backbone of 

Gaza City's wastewater network, was one of several 

civilian structures torched during the withdrawal.

 

 Its destruction, said Monther Shoblaq, Director General of the 

Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), could push the 

city's sewage system "to point zero." He added, "I mean, 

they signed a ceasefire. Why --- set it on fire?" Shoblaq 

explained that without the plant, raw sewage would 

have to be dumped directly into the sea, creating 

an environmental catastrophe - that could take 

years to repair.

 

Pattern of destruction

 

This latest arson is part of a well-established pattern of Israeli 

forces destroying civilian infrastructure upon retreat from 

occupied zones. Soldiers' social media posts, filled with 

captions like "Leaving a mark," "a small souvenir," and 

"good riddance" - depict the burning of multi-story 

apartment buildings around Gaza City's Sheikh 

Radwan neighbourhood. 

 

In one post, a soldier boasted of "finishing touches" as flames 

consumed residential homes. Others vandalized interiors 

with graffiti; one message read, "Enjoy[,] sluts," while 

another warned, "We shall return here."

 

Israeli officials have long spoken openly about their intention to 

render Gaza uninhabitable. In September, Minister Gila Gamliel 

told Channel 7 News, "We have already completely annihilated 

75% of the entire [Gaza] Strip. There remains 25%, which, as 

you know, it too... we are now taking over [the city of] Gaza.

 There will be nothing left there that would really [have] the 

potential to be habitable." Likewise, cabinet member 

Itamar Ben-Gvir previously declared that "the only 

thing left in Gaza for The Electricity Company to 

disconnect now -------- is the wastewater 

treatment plant."

 

Burned legacy

 

The Sheikh Ajlin facility, funded through a $19 million 

German investment and a later upgrade program by 

the KfW Development Bank - had been central to 

reconstruction plans drafted by CMWU, earlier 

this year. Satellite imagery from May showed 

the plant partially intact, and engineers had 

hoped to restart operations once fighting 

ceased. Those plans are now in ruins.

 

UN agencies have repeatedly warned that "Israel's" systematic 

destruction of Gaza's utilities, water, electricity, and sanitation 

constitutes part of a "widespread and systematic attack 

directed against the civilian population" and could 

amount to a crime against humanity. With the 

Sheikh Ajlin plant destroyed, over half of 

Gaza's residents are now exposed to 

raw sewage, increasing the spread 

of disease --- and contaminating 

the groundwater.

 

Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the ceasefire on Truth Social, 

writing that "Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed 

upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and 

Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!"

 

The scenes emerging from Gaza - tell a different story. "We are 

leaving behind us only dust. There's nothing here," an Israeli 

colonel told local media. As one soldier wrote online, 

"It was a brief but high quality [stay], we shall 

come back."

 

 

Source: DropSite News

 

 

_____________________________
 


Venezuela Calls for Global Action 


- to Ensure Peace in Palestine


October 13th, 11:16am


(teleSUR)


 


True peace implies the prosecution of human rights violators 


responsible for crimes committed against the Palestinian 


people. On Monday, Venezuela called upon the peoples 


of the world to keep an eye on what is happening in 


Gaza until peace is effectively achieved for all 


Palestinians in their territories.


 


Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs... the government of
President Nicolas Maduro issued the following statement:  


 


“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ---- in view of the progress 


made in the negotiations between the Hamas Political-Military 


Resistance Organization, the Palestinian authorities, and the 


government of the Zionist entity self-proclaimed as Israel, 


as a result of international pressure and the mobilization 


of the peoples of the world, who have reaffirmed --- that 


the Palestinian cause ------ is a cause of all of humanity, 


hereby sets out its position with regard to the process.


 


Venezuela recalls that this agreement comes after the almost 


entire destruction of the Gaza Strip, where more than 67,000 


people, mostly girls, boys, women, & defenseless civilians, 


were killed - by the criminal bombardments of the Zionist 


occupying forces - in flagrant violation of international 


humanitarian law.


 


The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela emphasizes - that the 


international popular mobilization, together with global 


political and diplomatic pressure - including that of 


Arab and Muslim States and Peoples around the 


world ------ have been decisive in initiating this 


process, and affirms that such mobilizations 


must continue --------- until the mandates of 


international law are fully complied with, 


in particular -------- the resolutions of the 


Security Council of the United Nations 


which demand the withdrawal of the 


occupying forces --- from territories 


invaded in 1967 - & establishment 


of the State of Palestine ---- with 


East Jerusalem, as its capital.


 


Venezuela maintains that true peace can only be achieved 


through the application of international justice - which 


entails the investigation and prosecution of the war 


criminals and human rights violators responsible
for the crimes committed against the
Palestinian people.


 


Finally, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela - reiterates its 


unwavering solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people 


and its commitment to continue supporting, in all


 international fora, the struggle for a just and 


lasting peace - based on sovereignty, 


dignity, and truth.''


 


 


__________________________________




Hamas, ‘Israel’ Exchange 

Captives and Prisoners

October 13th, 9:11am

(al Manar)

 

The operation to exchange Israeli captives and Palestinian 

prisoners has started on Monday morning, with Hamas 

releasing seven hostages, so far.

 

Israeli occupation authorities said the handover of 20 alive 

captives who were held in Gaza, was complete. Two 

batches of captives were  received by the Red 

Cross at a location in Gaza.

 

The Israeli foreign ministry named the released captives as the 

Red Cross said that it had started a “multiphase operation” to 

facilitate the release and transfer of the remaining hostages.

 

Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank 

were waiting for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians 

from Israeli jails ----- as part of the agreement.

 

250 of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences as well 

as 1,718 from Gaza, who were arrested after October 7, 

will be freed.

 

A number of white buses with Israeli flags and vehicles with 

flashing lights are being seen outside Israel’s Ofer Military

 Prison, in the occupied West Bank, where many of the 

Palestinian prisoners were being held.

 


All 1,966 Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release 

on Monday have boarded buses in Israeli prisons 

pic.twitter.com/PoaKyEgbpY

 

— RT (@RT_com) October 13, 2025

 

 

The Red Cross was overseeing the logistics of the prisoner 

exchange, including transfers of Palestinian detainees 

to a designated medical point in Khan Younis, set up 

inside Nasser Hospital specifically for this day.

 

If completed as planned, the exchange will also include

 the return of the bodies of 28 dead hostages.

 

Al-Qassam Says Committed to Deal

 

Meanwhile on Monday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing 

of Hamas, stressed that it is committed to the swap deal 

--- as long as the Israeli occupation is too.

 

“We declare our commitment to the agreement reached, and 

the timetables associated with it, as long as the occupation 

[Israel] adheres to them,” Al-Qassam said in a statement.

 

It hailed the Palestinian people steadfastness by saying: “The 

agreement reached is the result of the steadfastness of our 

people and the resilience of resistance fighters.”

 

“The resistance was eager to stop the 

war of extermination, but the enemy 

thwarted all efforts.”

 

“The enemy.... failed to recover its prisoners through military 

pressure, despite its superior intelligence and surplus force. 

The enemy submits and recovers its prisoners through an 

exchange deal, as the resistance had promised from the 

beginning,” the statement read.

 

 

Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar)

 

 













Image: Javier Sotomayor Sanabria's Birth Day



Today, October the 13th, in 1967,

 

Javier Sotomayor Sanabria,

 

track and field athlete who is the
current world record holder 
in the high jump, still...

 

is born.

 

 The 1992 Olympic gold medalist, he was the dominant high 

jumper of the 1990s; his world record of 2.45 m (8 ft 1⁄4 in) 

makes him the only person ever to have cleared 8 feet 

(2.44 m). He cleared 8 feet twice, the first time with 

2.44 m in 1989.

 

Sotomayor was a two-time gold medalist at the IAAF 

World Championships in Athletics, and also won 

two silver medals at the competition. 

 

At the IAAF World Indoor Championships he won four gold 

medals between 1989 and 1999. In addition, he won 

three straight titles at the Pan American Games 

from 1987 to 1995. 

 

He is regarded as the best high jumper of all time. 

 

After Cuban boycotts of the Olympics in 1984 and 1988 

and an injury in 1996 cost him chances at additional 

Olympic medals, he won the silver medal at the 

2000 Olympics in Sydney.

 

He retired after injuries led to a 

tendon weakness, in 2001.

 

 

“There, we, the athletes, are privileged. 

I will never leave Cuba, to not return. 

I love my homeland too much and, 

moreover.... I am committed to 

helping it out of trouble.” 








Microsoft - forced to block Israel’s use of its 
cloud, AI... in mass spying on Palestinians

September 27th, 10:20am

 (PressTV)

 

US tech giant Microsoft has been forced to terminate the Israeli 

military’s access to some of its services ------ which the illegal 

regime uses for espionage activities and data surveillance 

against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza and the 

occupied West Bank.

 

Microsoft’s vice chair and president, Brad Smith, confirmed in a 

blog post that the company had “ceased and disabled a set of 

services” to a unit within the Israeli ministry of military affairs

------- in response to an August 6 joint investigation by The 

Guardian, +972 Magazine, and the Hebrew-language 

outlet Local Call.

 

The investigation revealed that following a 2021 meeting between 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Israel’s Unit 8200 leader Yossi 

Sariel, an agreement was reached -- to collaborate on moving 

large volumes of ''sensitive'' intelligence material into the 

company’s Azure platform.

 

The probe revealed that Unit 8200, the Israeli military’s notorious 

spy outfit in charge of carrying out clandestine operations and 

collecting signal intelligence, used Microsoft’s Azure cloud 

computing platform to store phone call data obtained 

through mass surveillance in war-torn Gaza and 

the occupied West Bank.

 

The joint investigation said the spying unit, equipped with Azure’s 

near-limitless storage capacity and computing power - had built

 an indiscriminate new system allowing its intelligence officers 

to collect, play back, and analyze the content of cellular calls

 .....of the entire Palestinian population.

 

According to several sources, the enormous repository of 

intercepted calls – which amounted to as much as 8,000

terabytes of data – was held in a Microsoft data centre

--- in the Netherlands.

 

Sources familiar with the matter, said Microsoft told Israeli officials

 late last week that Unit 8200 had violated the company’s terms of 

service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure 

cloud platform.

 

The decision brings to an abrupt end a three-year period 

in which the spy agency operated its surveillance 

program using Microsoft’s technology.

 

Although the initial focus of the spying system was the occupied 

West Bank, where an estimated three million Palestinians live 

under Israeli military occupation - intelligence sources were 

reported to say the cloud-based storage platform had been 

used in the Gaza war......... to facilitate the preparation of 

deadly airstrikes.

 

The revelations highlighted how Israel, in cahoots with major US 

technology companies, used their services and infrastructure

----- to bomb Gaza, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians,

mostly civilians, and creating a humanitarian crisis.

 

US technology giant Microsoft plays a significant role and is 

complicit in the Israeli regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza 

Strip by providing the occupying entity with advanced 

artificial intelligence (AI) tools, finances, and 

workforce, says a recent report.

 

Last month, Quds News Network said in a report - that Microsoft is 

among the most prominent global technology companies that has

 established a strong and influential presence, in the Israeli war 

on Gaza.

 

Microsoft was reported to have employed over 1,000 former Israeli 

soldiers and officers in its offices within the occupied territories, 

with many also working in its global branches.

 

Investigations based on leaked employee records reveal 

that more than 300 former Israeli spies currently work

 at Microsoft, according to the report.

 

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been committing genocide 

in the Gaza Strip by killing, starving, and displacing 

Palestinians, ignoring international calls and 

orders from the International Court of 

Justice - to halt it.

 

The genocide has left 65,549 dead and 167,518 injured, most of 

them children and women. Over 11,000 people are missing, in 

addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and

 a famine that has claimed more than 210 lives.

 

 

_______________________________________________






UN blacklist updated: 68 more companies 


linked to illegal activities - in Israel


September 26th, 6pm


(africanews)


 


The United Nations has significantly expanded -------- its blacklist of 


companies accused of contributing to human rights violations 


against Palestinians  ---- through their activities in
Israeli settlements.


 


The UN added 68 new companies from 11 countries


 to its database, bringing the total to 158 firms.


 


The list, first established just under a decade ago, 


predominantly features Israeli companies - but 


also includes major Western companies from
the US, Germany, Spain, and many others.


 


The update - primarily targets firms in construction, 


real estate, mining, and quarrying - ruling their 


operations supportive... of settlements that 


are illegal ------ under international law.


 


Notable additions, include Germany's Heidelberg 


Materials and Spain's Ineco, while travel giants


 like Expedia and Airbnb - remain listed.


 


This update arrives at a politically sensitive time, as 


some European nations have recently recognized a 


Palestinian state in protest of Israel's military 


actions in Gaza.


 


It also follows Israeli threats of the annexation


of the West Bank and its approval of more


new ''settlements''.


 


The UN human rights office stated it urges businesses to 


conduct due diligence ---- to avoid human rights abuses.


 


However, the list is a symbolic tool from the UN Human 


Rights Council, says africanews ---- lacking power to 


enforce compliance.


 


Rhondda Records adds: unless others find 


the UN list -- and boycott those firms on it.


 


 


_________________________________________

 
Edinburgh --- to become first Scottish city 


to boycott Israeli regime over genocide


September 26th, 3:35pm


 (PressTV)


 


Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, has aimed to become the first 


Scottish city to boycott the Israeli regime over its ongoing 


genocidal war against  Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.


 


City Councillors voted on Thursday in favour of a motion.. which 


moves the capital closer to implementing Boycott, Divestment 


and Sanctions (BDS) against the Zionist regime: in opposition 


to the Gaza genocide.


 


Green Councillor Ben Parker said the Council.. took a step towards 


ensuring that no public money is being used to support the regime.


 


“The people of Edinburgh have repeatedly voiced their solidarity 


with the people of Palestine, and Green Councillors have long 


been trying to find ways to turn that solidarity into practical 


actions against the Israeli regime," Parker said. 


 


“BDS is one way of doing this, but local councils have previously 


been blocked from taking this action against Israel ...due to an 


outdated piece of legislation," he added. 


 


“As we approach two years of continued bombardment, torture and 


mass starvation of Palestinians, it seems bizarre to be debating 


motions about regulations and process," Parker said. 


 


“But we’re hoping that the move by the Scottish Government will 


allow Edinburgh to follow suit and take real, practical steps 


towards a free Palestine --- so, we need clarity on exactly


what it means for local government procurement rules." 


 


Meanwhile, former co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, 


said, "We fully support our Green Councillors motion, and we hope 


that Edinburgh will lead the way in taking action to boycott Israel."


 


“There is a role for every level of government in taking action and 


showing true solidarity with the Palestinian people who are 


subjected to horrific killing and dehumanisation by 


Israeli military forces," he said. 


 


“Scotland must divest from any Israeli-linked companies and arms 


dealers who profit from the state-sanctioned genocide in Gaza," 


he stated.  


 


“The Scottish Government has already voted in favour of our 


proposals, and now they must explain how they will carry


 them out, and how they will work with local councils 


to enable them to do the same.”


 


The Greens hope to use the international sanctions and boycotts to


 pressure the Israeli regime into ending the genocidal war against 


Gaza ---- and uphold its responsibilities to international law.


 


Scottish Conservatives, who are opposed to the move, 


labelled the motion as “warped” and “anti-Semitic”.


 


Jackson Carlaw, a former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, 


claimed Edinburgh residents expect the city Councillors to be 


focused on menial jobs -- like emptying their bins and filling 


potholes, instead of putting forward legislation aimed at 


ending the suffering and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 


 


Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on Gaza in 


October 2023, at least 65,502 Palestinians, mostly women 


and children, have been killed.


 


The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for 


Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war 


minister Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against 


humanity in Gaza.


 


The Israeli regime also faces a genocide case at 


the International Court of Justice (ICC) for its 


crimes in the besieged Palestinian land.


 


 


__________________________________________





Eurovision body to vote 

- on Israel's expulsion

by Steven McIntosh

Entertainment reporter

September 26th, 12:54pm

(by the state owned BBC)

 

Share

 

The organisation behind the Eurovision Song Contest has 

confirmed it will hold a vote on whether or not Israel 

should be allowed to participate next year.

 

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed it will

 invite 68 member countries to give their view at a 

general assembly meeting in early November.

 

A decision will be taken by a simple majority, meaning that

 if more than 50% of members vote to exclude Israel, 

the country will not take part in 2026.

 

Israel's continued participation in Eurovision has been 

controversial due to the ongoing ''war'' in Gaza, and 

several countries have already called for 

their exclusion.

 

The EBU confirmed all 68 member countries will be 

invited to vote, including broadcasters who don't 

take part in Eurovision, such as Tunisia, Egypt, 

Turkey, Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon.

 

Recently, countries including Ireland, the Netherlands, 

Slovenia, Iceland and Spain, have all said they will 

drop out of Eurovision ...if Israel is not banned.

 

The Irish broadcaster, RTÉ, said that Ireland's participation

 in the event "would be unconscionable given the ongoing 

and appalling loss of lives in Gaza".

 

The Dutch public broadcaster, Avrotros, said it too could 

no longer justify Israel's inclusion "given the ongoing 

and severe human suffering in Gaza".

 

However, Israel's public broadcaster Kan said it should be 

allowed to take part, adding it was "one of the contest's 

longstanding, popular and successful participants".

 

In the UK, Eurovision is broadcast by the BBC. Last week, 

the corporation's director-general Tim Davie said he was

 "aware of the concerns" ....around Israel taking part.




Rhondda Records adds:

 

It's amazing that a violent colonizing apartheid state 

managed to sneak into this European competition, 

as Israel........ is such a long way from Europe. 

 

 

__________________________________________________

 


Chile rejects new purchases of weapons 

and military equipment ------ from Israel

September 24th, 11:45am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

The Minister of Defense of Chile, Adriana Delpiano, affirmed today 

that there will be no more purchases of weapons and military 

equipment from Israel when current contracts expire, and 

pointed out the importance of diversifying this line.

 

The official announced  ----- that there are meetings with 

representatives from other countries, including Spain 

and the UK, to convert them into new suppliers.

 

Delpiano said it is “an issue that has nothing to do with 

the quality of the weapons being fulfilled, but has to
do ....with another situation».

 

During his recent June 1 Public Account, President Gabriel 

Boric said the country will no longer depend on Israeli

industry ------ in all fields.

 

Along these lines...... he reported that he instructed the head of 

Defense to develop an urgent technological diversification plan.

 

During a conversation with Diario de Cooperativa, the minister said 

this Wednesday that when certain equipment is purchased, there 

is a dependency in terms of technical assistance, and the

purchase of spare parts and devices.

 

He made reference to the Israeli radars used by the Chilean 

Armed Forces and assured that there are other nations 

interested in working with Chile in the future, when

 the current contracts end.

 

He added that in December the Space Centre will be 

inaugurated, where they will build satellites without 

Israeli technology, but based on elements 

tendered in various countries.

 

A recent publication by academic Gabriel Rivas in the Centre

 for Journalistic Investigations indicates that, of Chile's total 

military spending, only a small proportion goes to the 

import of supplies from the Middle Eastern State.

 

However, they include sensitive equipment such as drones, 

Galil assault rifles, multiple launch systems, anti-tank 

guided missiles, radars, missile boats, and others.

 

 

___________________________________________________



Spain approves embargo on

 arms trade with Israel

September 23rd, 11:11am

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

The Council of Ministers of the Government of Spain today 

approved implementing the arms embargo on Israel, a 

measure that is added to others, in rejection of the 

genocide in Gaza.

 

It was the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos 

Body, who was in charge of commenting on the announcement 

to the media regarding the Royal Decree Law, which 

coincidentally was accompanied in parallel by a 

minute of silence for the victims of Gaza in 

the Congress of Deputies..

 

“(...) urgent measures are adopted against the genocide in Gaza 

and to support the Palestinian population (...) We consolidate 

the total arms embargo on Israel’, the Corps highlighted.

 

In this way, the total arms embargo on Israel is legally established 

and prohibits the trade of products from the occupied Palestinian 

territories, which establishes that exceptions can be applied to 

safeguard the general national interest, he added.

 

Likewise, he stressed - that the Royal Decree-Law is ‘a forceful and 

pioneering step’ and another example of the political commitment

of the Government and Spain's leadership to be able to achieve a 

just peace and lasting in the area, and that ‘the genocide stops”.

 

Going deeper into the issue, the Corps explained that the 

consolidation of the total arms embargo on Israel, the 

ban on exports to Israel and imports originating in 

Israel of all defense material and dual-use 

products or technology - are essential.

 

In addition --- the denial of the transit request for aircraft fuels 

with possible military use in Israel, which were not included 

until now in the Foreign Trade Control Regulation, they are 

today... included.

 

Another aspect is the prohibition of importing products originating 

from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory 

and finally the prohibition of advertising for the marketing of 

goods originating from these settlements..... of services 

provided in them.

 

The head of the Economy pointed out that the Government is 

committed to reporting to Congress every quarter, of which

he trusts that he will give his support to this package of 

sanctions within a deadline of 30 days.

 

On the other hand, Spain firmly maintained this Tuesday its will to 

preserve the security and protection of the humanitarian flotilla 

that brings humanitarian aid to Gaza ------- while rejecting

 Israel's threats.

 

In a statement released by the Spanish Foreign Ministry and 

endorsed from New York by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

José Manuel Albares, the Iberian nation confirmed that 

it will provide all diplomatic and consular protection 

to the Sumud Global Flotilla.

 

The diplomat recalled the peaceful and humanitarian nature 

of this civil society initiative and assured that “we will

 react to any act that violates their freedom of 

movement, their freedom of expression 

and international law”.

 

 

_______________________________________




Over 1,300 Artists Pledge Boycott 

of Israeli Film Institutions ---- 

as Gaza War Escalates

September 9th, 5:58am

(teleSUR)

 

More than 1,300 artists, among them Mark Ruffalo, Riz 

Ahmed, and Tilda Swinton, have pledged to cut ties 

with Israeli film institutions accused of complicity

 in violations against Palestinians.

 

More than 1,300 artists, including high-profile Hollywood actors 

and filmmakers, have pledged to withdraw from Israeli film 

institutions accused of supporting violations against 

Palestinians, as Israel’s war on Gaza enters its 

23rd month.

 

The initiative, announced Monday, brings together figures such 

as Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Tilda 

Swinton, and Javier Bardem. Their statement condemned 

what they called the “unrelenting horror” in Gaza, where 

Israeli attacks have killed over 64,000 Palestinians and 

devastated most of the enclave.

 

“Inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid who refused 

to screen their films in apartheid South Africa, we pledge not 

to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film 

institutions – including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and 

production companies – that are implicated in genocide and 

apartheid against the Palestinian people,” the 

declaration read.

 

The signatories defined complicity as “whitewashing or justifying 

genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government 

committing them.” The pledge also cited International Court 

of Justice findings that the genocide case against Israel is 

legally plausible -------- and reaffirmed the illegality of the 

occupation of Palestinian territory.

 

Human rights groups, academics, and UN experts have repeatedly

 accused Israel of committing genocide, one of the gravest war 

crimes defined by the United Nations as acts carried out “with 

intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,

 racial or religious group.”

 

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Lerner described the initiative 

as a “non-violent tool” to challenge impunity. “It is the 

responsibility of every independently minded artist 

to use whatever powers of expression they 

possess to support the global resistance 

to overcome this horror,” he said.

 

The boycott reflects a shift within an industry long known for 

pro-Israel narratives. Hollywood.. once produced films such 

as the 1960 feature Exodus that glorified Israel’s founding, 

and has frequently embedded positive references to the 

country in mainstream productions. Yet recent years 

have seen actors and directors, openly criticize 

Israeli policies, often at a professional cost.

 

In 2023, Susan Sarandon, who signed the current pledge, was 

dropped by her talent agency after attending a Palestine 

solidarity rally. Actress Melissa Barrera, another 

signatory, lost her role in the Scream franchise 

following social media posts critical of Israel.

 

At the same time, Palestinian stories are gaining visibility. In 

March, the Israeli-Palestinian co-production No Other Land,

 documenting the destruction of Masafer Yatta in the 

occupied West Bank, won the Academy Award for 

best documentary feature. In September, The 

Voice of Hind Rajab — recounting the final 

calls of a five-year-old Palestinian girl.. 

before she and her family were killed 

by Israeli forces — received a 23-

minute standing ovation at the 

Venice Film Festival.

 

The artists’ statement concluded: “As filmmakers, actors, film 

industry workers, and institutions, we recognise the power 

of cinema to shape perceptions. In this urgent moment of 

crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the 

carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can, to 

address complicity in that unrelenting horror.”

 

The collective action -- adds cultural weight to mounting calls for 

accountability, as artists mobilize their influence to challenge 

Israel’s conduct in Gaza and spotlight Palestinian voices on

 the global stage.

 

 



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 - opposed World War One.

His namesake is stammering his way in the opposite direction.



VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV




ROGER WATERS
TO MUSICIANS:-
"BOYCOTT ISRAEL"

Roger Waters formerly of Pink Floyd, in an open letter,
 calls on his fellow musicians --- to boycott the Zionist
Israeli regime and follow the example of the cultural
boycott against the ex S. African Apartheid regime.

“Given the inability or unwillingness of our governments
 [to act] …. I write to you now, my brothers and sisters …
 to ask you to join with me, & thousands of other artists
 around the world, to declare a cultural boycott
on Israel,” Roger Waters says in his letter.

Waters says the Zionist regime has been found guilty of
 major breaches of human rights and international law
 by international organizations, UN officials and the
International Court of Justice.

He touches on two such cases, saying the regime has been
 identified as perpetrating the “crime of Apartheid”, including
 in a statement on March 9th, 2012 by the UN Committee on
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the “crime of
ethnic cleansing” including in East Jerusalem (al-Quds).

Waters adds that he has been a member of the Boycott,
 Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the
 Israeli regime’s occupation of the Palestinian lands and
 Tel Aviv’s violations of Palestinian human rights for 7
 years, and now wants other musicians to also join
the anti-Israeli front.

“Please join me and all our brothers and sisters in global
 civil society in proclaiming our rejection of Apartheid in
 Israel & occupied Palestine, by pledging not to perform
 or exhibit in Israel or accept any award or funding from
 any institution linked to the government of Israel, until
 such time as Israel complies with international law
and universal principles of human rights.” 

The former Pink Floyd Musician also says he has recently
 faced a boycott by the US media after his November 29th,
 2012 address at the UN on behalf of the Russell Tribunal.

In the address, he sought accountability for the Zionist
 regime’s violations of the international law and the lack
 of United Nations resolve that prevents the Palestinian
 people from achieving their inalienable rights,
especially  the right of self-determination.


____________________




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


For more details visit


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


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



Daytime Delights...

Starts at 1pm

The Parc & Dare, Treorchy


Lunchtime Concerts in the Lounge Bar.


Indulge in a delicious cake and a cup of tea
while enjoying music and sing-along songs
from fantastic Welsh musicians.


Ticket information:

The Cultural Services Booking & Information Line:

08000 147 111
or book online at

www.rct-arts.co.uk 


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



Mid Rhondda Modelling Club...

7pm - 9pm


Tonyrefail Comprehensive School
Mid Rhondda Modelling Club

has been running for over 30 years.

We meet on a regular basis

& enjoy making models for display.

We encourage both Gentlemen

and Ladies to attend,
and also young people aged 12+.

However, Young people under 16,
must be accompanied by an adult.


Ticket information

£1 contribution every week. Under 16's free


Telephone Mr. Davies on 01443 686658



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



 Comedy In The Laughter Lounge


The Park & Dare Theatre, Treorchy.


COMEDY IN THE LAUGHTER LOUNGE


Join us once a month in the intimate setting
of the Laughter Lounge for some
top notch comedy with some of the
biggest and brightest
rising comedians on the circuit.

Laugh? You'll snort like a pig!


Hilarious - TimeOut.



www.rct-arts.co.uk






Rhondda Records exists to express the Rhondda's
vision --- when it was confident, powerful, caring,
and socialist.

A Rhondda very aware of the media's poisonous
tricks -- how they con working class people into
attacking each other, or racial groups, or, often,
even their best allies and friends... instead of
seeing their real enemies:--- an elite who hate
the very idea that working people can think,
create, or achieve a fairer society.

Thatcher said her proudest achievement was
Blair and New Labour - who parachuted in
careerists and expenses fiddlers - to stop
local Labour members having a say, and
who made genuine socialist MPs leave
the Labour party in disgust and many
members and voters to despair...
and the young to stop voting.

Jeremy Corbyn was always attacked because
he was trying to reverse all that New Labour
corruption --- that's why membership was
flooding in all over the UK.


______________________________________


Get Involved!

– If you feel you’ve been ‘purged’,
take this online survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/857YMDK


or this one:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0du5YuhPZ8ahI
oxC_b6pvBprmGA4XFdG-0r2dOVYyc4UNFg/viewform?c=0&w=1


– Request all your own data that
the Labour Party holds on you:

http://www.labour.org.uk/pages/privacy


_______________________________________



IF - YOU THINK you HAVE
BEEN UNFAIRLY BARRED:

“Any member who is suspended & intends
to appeal the decision should throw in a
 ‘Subject Access Request in accordance
with the Data Protection Act’ --- for ALL
 data that the Labour Party hold on them.

The Labour Party are Data Controllers and
 therefore have to, by law, provide you with
 all material/information they hold on you.”

If anyone is in contact with anyone who
was barred from voting --- please can
you pass this info on:

The Labour leadership election was under the
jurisdiction of the electoral reform services.

If you were unfairly deprived of your vote you
can call them on 0208 365 8909 and lodge
 your complaint, and inform them of your
Data Protection request.

https://www.electoralreform.co.uk

The notification letters barring new members
did not give a clear reason, or information on
how to appeal, so Vox Political suggests that
 anyone in this situation, could also contact
 Liz Davies here: http://www.whycantivote.com

She is a barrister --- who can
advise members on what to do.



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


PONCY LABOUR MPS PROBLEM?

A huge drop in working-class Labour MPs,
caused a massive drop in support among
 voters with similar backgrounds, reveals
 research seeking to explain why support
has dwindled in the party’s heartlands.

The study says past leaders like Kinnock
 and Blair made a concerted effort to pick
 “more and more middle-class candidates
to run for office, during the 80s and 90s,
 as part of an effort to rebrand” -- which
had initial successes at the ballot box.

But this “conscious electoral strategy”
stored up problems, as working-class
 voters who initially, just didn’t vote in
response, now seek an alternative.

The solution? Trust each constituency to put
forward its own candidates, and don't impose
 ‘party-approved’ choices who can't do the job.


Now, unfortunately, there are "entryist"  MPs who, for
decades, have been groomed by CIA cold war relic
organisations -- like the Atlantic Council -- and are
now trying to misdirect the Labour Party towards
cuts, a militarised police, and a US war agenda...
- and their anti-Corbyn slant is hobbling Labour.

‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guide
to Reselection and Democratic Accountability
by Eric Sim, excellent free advice here:

http://novaramedia.com/2016/07/13/how-can-i-
deselect-my-labour-mp-a-short-guide-to-
reselection-and-democratic-accountability/

CHRIS BRYANT - SUPPORT THE MEMBERS'
LEADERSHIP CHOICE & POLICIES - OR GO!

Chris Bryant, the Rhondda's dodgy MP,
was on TV -- as soon as the PLP coup
started -- telling us that Jeremy MUST
go, because it was the ONLY way to
act in the Labour Party's interest...


Chris Bryant's voting record:
from TheyWorkForYou.com

On Tuition Fees:

On 27 Jan 2004:
Chris Bryant voted in favour of university tuition
fees increasing from £1,125 per year, to up to
£3,000 per year.

On 31 Mar 2004:
Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees
 to increase from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000
 per year.

On 31 Mar 2004:
Chris Bryant voted for the introduction of variable
university tuition fees (top-up fees) of up to £3,000
per year in place of the previous fixed fee of £1,250
per year.

On 31 Mar 2004:
Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees
to increase from £1,125 per year to up to £3,000
per year, and to make other changes to higher
education funding and regulation arrangements.

On 14 Sep 2004:
Chris Bryant voted against: the immediate abolition
 of all tuition fees, the re-introduction of maintenance
grants of up to £2,000 for students from low-income
homes, and changes to the country's higher
education system.

On 14 Sep 2004:
Chris Bryant voted to reject the Liberal
Democrat policy of abolition of tuition fees.

On 25 May 2016:
Chris Bryant was absent for a vote on Queen's
Speech - Forcing Schools to Become Academies
- Further Rises in University Tuition Fees


On Human Rights:

Consistently voted for introducing ID cards

Almost always voted for requiring the mass
retention of information about communications

Generally voted for mass surveillance of
people’s communications and activities


On the Environment:

Generally voted against greater regulation
 of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract
 shale gas


On Special Interests:

Almost always voted against limits
 on success fees paid to lawyers in
no-win no fee cases

Generally voted against a
statutory register of lobbyists


On War or Peace:

Generally voted for use of UK military
 forces in combat operations overseas

Consistently voted for the Iraq war

Consistently voted against an
 investigation into the Iraq war

Generally voted for replacing Trident
 with a new nuclear weapons system

On 2 Dec 2015:
Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria
[without UN authorisation]

On 2 Dec 2015:
Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria
[without UN authorisation]


On Independence:

Generally voted for more EU integration

____________________________
   

Chris Bryant Labour MP
From Wikipedia

(aka 1962-1986: Mr Christopher John Bryant
1986-1991: The Reverend Christopher John
Bryant, 1991-2001: Mr Christopher John
Bryant, 2001-: Mr Christopher John
Bryant MP.)

Born in Cardiff, to a Scottish mother & a Welsh
 father, Bryant grew up in Cardiff, Wales (where
 his father worked for 5 years), and Cheltenham.

He was educated at Cheltenham College, an
independent school for boys in the spa town
of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, where he
was captain of the school swimming team,
and Mansfield College at the University of
Oxford, where he graduated in 1983, with
 a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English.
 This was later promoted to a Master of
Arts degree (MA (Oxon)), as per tradition.

After completing his first degree, Bryant began
 training to be a priest in the Church of England
at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, in Oxfordshire.
There, he obtained a degree in theology.

Although a member of the Conservative
 Party, and an elected office-holder in the
 Oxford University Conservative Association,
he joined the Labour Party in 1986, after
leaving Oxford.

He was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in
1987. He served as a Curate at the Church of
 All Saints, High Wycombe, from 1986 to 1989;
then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough,
as well as travelling in Latin America.

In 1991 Bryant left the ordained ministry, after
deciding that being gay and being a priest,
were incompatible. Statements made by
 Richard Harries, then Bishop of Oxford,
 also influenced his decision.

After leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant
worked as the election agent to the Holborn
 and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party,
 where he helped Frank Dobson hold his seat
 in the 1992 general election.

From 1993, he was Local Government officer
for the Labour Party; he lived in Hackney and
 was elected to Hackney Borough Council in
1993, serving until 1998. He became Chair of
the Christian Socialist Movement.

 He is both a member of the Labour Friends
 of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine &
 the Middle East. From 1994 to 1996 he was
 London manager of the leader-grooming
 "charity", Common Purpose.

 He was Labour candidate for Wycombe, in the
 1997 general election (he lost by 2,370 votes),
and Head of European Affairs for the BBC,
from 1998.

His selection for the very safe Labour seat of
Rhondda, South Wales in 2000, shocked many
 people given Bryant's background – gay, an ex-
Anglican vicar, and someone who was a Tory,
while studying at Oxford, and a member now,
of the Henry Jackson Society 'think tank' ---
 described by The Guardian newspaper as
 'neoconservative'. It is pro-US, pro-NATO
and pro-military intervention, as well as
being fundamentally anti-socialist.

 Fifty-two people applied for the candidature
and a local councillor was hot favourite to
 win, before Bryant was parachuted in.

In 2004, a photograph of Mr Bryant in his
 underpants, which he had posted to a gay
 dating website, was published in 'papers.

When an interviewer suggested he was
 a 'disgrace to the Rhondda', he replied:
"They can't get rid of me."


His pay, allowances and some expenses:

The basic annual salary for an MP, from
April 1st, 2016 is £74,962.  MPs also get
 expenses: to cover the costs of running
 an office, employing staff, having some-
where to live in London, plus, in their
constituency and travelling between
 Parliament and their constituency.


His MP's expenses story:

Chris Bryant changed second home
 twice to claim £20,000: the deputy
leader of the House of Commons,
 "flipped" his second home twice,
 in 2 years, allowing him to claim
 almost £20,000 for renovations
 and fees.

Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda, split over
 £92,000 of expenses between 3 properties
 in Wales and London --- within five years.

In 2004, he attempted to claim £58,000 to
 overhaul his second home in Wales, after
allegedly complaining that properties in
his constituency were "terrace or mine
 owners' houses".

Mr Bryant, a former Church of England clergyman,
wanted the money for a new bathroom & kitchen,
 and to demolish his conservatory. He'd bought the
 detached house for £97,500, under a year earlier.

 He submitted a claim to the Commons fees office for
 £58,493.26 --- almost 3 times the annual maximum.
 He noted that the claim exceeded his allowance.

His alleged justification was disclosed... in
 correspondence between Commons officials.
 By email, an official wrote: "He had problems
finding a suitable property because in the
Rhondda there is a choice mainly of terraced
 property or mine owners' houses." When
approached by the Daily Telegraph,
Mr Bryant said: "I have never said
 or thought anything of the sort".

 In all, he successfully claimed over £13,000
 for renovations, repairs & appliances, in 2004.
Along with other bills, his annual claim was
 £20,902.

In April 2005, he flipped his expenses to his flat in
 west London, which he bought for £400,000 in April
 2002. He also claimed £630 a month for mortgage
 interest, along with other bills. After claiming over
 £3,600 over 3 months, he sold the flat in July 2005
 for £477,000.

Mr Bryant used his profits to buy a more expensive
 flat in west London, which was valued at £670,000.
 He immediately flipped his second home expenses
 there, claiming almost £6,400 in stamp duty, legal
fees and mortgage fees, incurred in the purchase.

He then began claiming interest of £1,000 a month
on the mortgage. He also claimed a further £6,000
 a year for the flat's service charge and ground rent.

In all, he claimed £92, 415 in second
home expenses, from 2004 to 2009.

Mr Bryant said at the time: "I moved flat in
 London, so as to be closer to Parliament."

Research by Channel 4 News in 2015 found that
at least 46 MPs had this kind of system in place
– a move one Labour backbencher described as
“a new fiddle”. Channel 4 reported then:

“Our investigation found that many of the MPs
 bought their London properties with the help of
the taxpayer, when a previous expenses system
 allowed them to claim back mortgage payments.
But when those claims were banned, following
 the expenses scandal, they switched to letting
out their properties, in some cases for up to
 £3,000 a month. They then started claiming
 expenses for rent and hotels in the capital.”

Among those identified was Chris Bryant, shadow
leader of the House of Commons. He had already
 bought a penthouse in London back in 2005 and
 claimed around £1,000 a month in mortgage
claims under the old system.

But after the expenses scandal, he started renting
the property out. It’s since been advertised by estate
 agents as having a private lift and a porter, with rent
 at about £3,000 a month. Meanwhile, Bryant moved
 into a new flat;- claiming his own rent on expenses.


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.


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


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.


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


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."


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


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.

 What have we got to lose?



Other pages:

This is the text-only version of this page. Click here to see this page with graphics.
Edit this page | Manage website
Make Your Own Website: 2-Minute-Website.com