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.”
grab a cuppa and a bite - lean back... and enjoy the wonderful video above!
The US Senate has banned Trump from
sending the military to Venezuela
without Congressional approval
by George Parkhomenko
January 8th, 5:41pm
(Rossiyskaya Gazeta)
To share
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution prohibiting
President Donald Trump from further using U.S. military
forces in Venezuela. This was reported by Bloomberg.
In addition, five representatives of the U.S. Republican Party -- voted
in favour, which is an unusual and significant resistance to military intervention, especially considering..... that no US assault troops were reported as killed.
The upper house of Congress - is particularly concerned
about Trump's desire to "manage" Venezuela without
specifying a timeframe.
"A protracted campaign in Venezuela involving the U.S. military --- even
if it is unintentional, will be the exact opposite of President Trump's
goal of ending foreign interference," Republican Todd Young said
after the vote.
Earlier, both parties criticized Trump for launching a
military operation - without Congressional approval.
The document will now be sent to the House of
Representatives for consideration, where its
fate is likely to be unenviable. On the other
hand, it is no longer as important.... as it
will not survive the presidential veto.
______________________________________
Uneac ratifies its commitment to Cuba
and together --- with sister Venezuela
January 8th, 8:22am
(Prensa Latina)
Given the events that are shaking Venezuela today, the president of
the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac), Marta Bonet, reiterated that the organization will always be together
with the country and in defense of just causes.
In exclusive statements to Prensa Latina, Bonet condemned the
military aggression of the United States government against
the South American nation --- and urged us to denounce
imperialism --- with all the means at our disposal.
We are living in a cruel and violent stage, he noted, and a meeting
like the one that took place the day before in the Villena Room
of the Uneac “shows us that we are facing ruthless fascism,
that goes against everything and everyone”.
He recalled that the organization reaches its 65th anniversary,
just in the year of the centenary of the historical leader of the
Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, who thought of and founded
the organization in 1961, shortly after the island's
revolutionary triumph.
This tradition of history and Revolution is what has
accompanied Uneac throughout these 65 years,
he added.
Once again, Cuban intellectuals and artists are standing in defense
of the homeland and socialism, because this organization has
always been one of homeland or death, and we are going to
express this throughout the year, and for as long as
necessary, to accompany the Party and the
Revolution in the processes that come
from now on, he noted.
He called to denounce the empire from all demonstrations and
points, and to remain alongside the Cuban people, who suffer
the departure of 32 brothers who fell in combat, in defense
of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
He assured that it is another example of the internationalism that
Fidel and Che taught us, it is, therefore, it is a responsibility with
the history of Cuba that Uneac continues to be an organization
of homeland or death, faithful to the legacy of our Commander
in Chief.
The Villena Room of the organization hosted the La Tertulia space
the day before with the panel ---- Historical culture in Revolution.
Fidel's legacy, from which the participants made clear their
condemnation of the US attack on Venezuelan territory,
in the early hours of January 3.
The meeting became a platform --- to evoke the extraordinary
contributions of Fidel Castro to the history of humanity, as
it reminded us that Uneac remains faithful to its ideals,
together with the country ---- and in defense of
just causes.
_________________________________________________
They call in Italy:for a march against
US aggression--- against Venezuela
January 8th, 12:47am GMT
(Prensa Latina)
Political and social forces from Italy announced a new national
demonstration against the United States military attack on
Venezuela, and for the release of the president, Nicolás
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, indicates a
statement today.
In a joint call it is noted that the march will take place next Saturday,
January 10, and will tour the streets of the centre of Rome, from
Plaza del Esquilino to the headquarters of the North American
embassy in this capital.
Among the organizations that launched this initiative are the parties
Poder al Pueblo, Patria Socialista and Red de los Comunistas; the
youth organizations Cambiare Rotta, Student Opposition of
Alternative (OSA), the Historical Pact of Italy and the
Latin American Progressive Platform.
“Hands off the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela! Stop US imperialism
and Zionism!, and Freedom for Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores!”
these are the slogans of this call, which was also joined by
the social organizations ARCI and CRED, the Palestinian
Student Movement and the La Villetta per Cuba
Association, among others.
“We take to the streets to express our internationalist solidarity
with Venezuela”, to denounce the governments that support
the aggression against that nation, against US imperialism
and the colonialist resurgence of the Monroe Doctrine in
Latin America, the document states.
“We express our solidarity and closeness with the Chavista people
and the Bolivarian revolutionary process” and “we condemn US
state terrorism --- that hit that country and kidnapped the
legitimate president Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores”,
the text adds.
On January 5, during a massive demonstration held in this capital,
protesters pointed out the importance ........of extending protests
against the North American imperialist attack on the Bolivarian
nation, as a violation of international law.
Thousands of protesters gathered, until late last Monday night, in
Barberini Square, located in the heart of Rome, very close to the
headquarters of the American embassy, which remains heavily
protected by security forces.
“We firmly condemn the extension of war as a tool for resolving
conflicts between States and the umpteenth and very serious
escalation of war produced by the Trump government's
military attack against the Republic of Venezuela
and the kidnapping of its president”, they
reaffirmed --- in a proclamation read
during the rally.
Since last Saturday, protests began in this country against this
aggression. Last weekend, with marches in important cities
such as Rome, Milan, Bologna, Naples, Turin, as well as in
Rimini, Cuneo, Salerno, Savona, Imperia and Empoli, in
which ......thousands of people participated.
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
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Loyalty to Resistance Bloc Calls on
All Lebanese - to Unite against
Zionist Schemes
January 8th, 3:27pm
(al Manar)
The Loyalty to the Resistance Parliamentary Bloc held its periodic
session on January 8, 2026, and discussed several political and
parliamentary issues, issuing a statement which affirmed that
the world today witnesses the shameful exposure of the US
administration, which has reached the peak of tyranny,
arrogance, and hypocrisy, brazenly violating values,
principles, and laws that underpin international
relations, aiming to protect international
security and peace.
“The US practices ----- have gone beyond the kidnapping of a head
of state and his wife, fabricating charges, and trying him with
premeditated revenge - for political and economic reasons,
aiming to dominate - and seize the country’s wealth and
resources, as stated by the US President himself. This
threatens the international system, and its stability,
..with implications for cultural, humanitarian, and
political aspects, relations between countries
..nations, and peoples - plus international
institutions -- and the system of basic
rights -- that underpin international
order, sovereignty, freedoms, and
self-determination, and violates
the identities, and cultural and
political specifics of peoples,
threatening chaos --- and a
return to dark periods in
human history.”
The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc rejected the stance of
Western countries allied with the US administration,
particularly the state they have led to, and the
situation in our region, where countries act
submissively as if they are a pawn for the
powerful and safety is sought.. through
submission, bribery, and surrender.
From its parliamentary position,
the bloc affirmed the following:
The bloc strongly condemns all forms of bullying, aggression, war
threats, and imposing conditions and agreements by force on any
country or people, aiming to usurp their right to choose their path
their system, and sovereignty, and violate their rights according
to international law, whether it concerns Venezuela, Denmark,
Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, or any other country or people.
The bloc renews its call to all Lebanese ---- to unite against the Zionist
occupation, which must be expelled from our country by all available
means, considering this --- a national priority. Failure to do so will
allow the enemy to create divisions and expand its occupation, undermining the hopes and dreams of all Lebanese ---- for a sovereign, independent, and united Lebanon.
The bloc believes the Zionist enemy continues to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty -- threatening its security and stability through assassinations, bombings, and airspace and territorial water violations, occupying land, detaining prisoners,
------ and preventing citizens from returning to their land... and rebuilding their homes.
Since Lebanon --- as a state, people, army, and resistance,
has fulfilled its obligations to the ceasefire on November
27, 2024, in southern Litani, the Lebanese government
must exhaust all possibilities and pressure to compel
the enemy to fulfill its obligations, starting with it
stopping its aggression.... and a complete and
unconditional withdrawal ------ and avoiding
concessions that encourage the enemy
to continue blackmailing it.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
____________________________________
Israeli forces abduct four young Syrians
--- after incursion into Syria's Quneitra
January 8th, 11:13am
(PressTV)
Israeli military forces abducted four young Syrian men
during a fresh incursion into Syria’s southwestern
province of Quneitra, near the border with the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Thursday
that an Israeli unit comprising five military vehicles set up
a checkpoint at the al-Kasarat junction on the road
linking Jbata al-Khashab and Ain al-Bayda.
According to the report, Israeli forces stopped civilians,
checked their identities, and detained four men from
Jbata before taking them to al-Hamidiyah village.
The abductions followed three separate Israeli incursions
into the Quneitra countryside earlier on Tuesday.
The development came --- amid growing political engagement
between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Israeli regime
as an HTS delegation recently held a new round of talks
with Israeli officials in Paris, under US coordination
and mediation.
SANA announced on Monday - that the Syrian delegation was
led by Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, the foreign minister of the
HTS regime, along with general intelligence director
Hussein al-Salama.
“The discussions are primarily focused on reactivating the 1974
Disengagement Agreement to ensure Israeli forces withdraw to
their positions prior to December 8, 2014, within the framework
of an equitable security agreement that prioritizes full Syrian
sovereignty and guarantees the prevention of any form of
interference in internal affairs,” an informed source said.
The two parties.. have been involved in intermittent discussions
aimed at achieving a "security agreement" for several months;
however, no agreement or substantial advancement has
been reported.
Following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria
last December, the Israeli military has been actively launching
airstrikes aimed at military installations, facilities, and
arsenals that were once under the control of the
now-defunct Syrian army.
Israel has come under strident criticism for terminating the 1974
ceasefire agreement with Syria and exploiting the turmoil in
the war-stricken country ----- to grab land.
Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), a US war
monitoring organization, has recently disclosed... that the
Israeli military has conducted over 600 attacks in Syria
within the last year.
Even with the HTS expressing a commitment to collaborate
with Tel Aviv, Israel has shown no intention of pulling back
its presence from Syria.
________________________________________
Israel - kills Palestinian girl in Gaza
amid repeated ceasefire breaches
January 8th, 10:13am
(PressTV)
Israeli forces have fatally shot a Palestinian girl in northern Gaza,
marking a fresh violation of the ceasefire agreement reached
last year.
Medical sources reported that 11-year-old Hamsa Nidal Hawso
was killed by Israeli army gunfire, in the al-Falouja area west
of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Thursday.
Witnesses reported that Israeli forces stationed east of the camp
opened heavy fire on the area, hitting the girl and killing her.
Another Palestinian child was also injured after Israeli soldiers
opened fire on a group of civilians in Zeitoun neighbourhood
of Gaza City, while Israeli artillery targeted the al‑Tuffah
neighbourhood on the city’s eastern side.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s governmental media office slammed the Israeli
regime for its refusal to open the Rafah crossing, saying the
regime is using flimsy pretexts to keep the essential
lifeline closed and --- to perpetuate the siege.
It noted that more than 80,000 Palestinians abroad have applied
to return to Gaza, but the occupation is obstructing their entry.
Thousands of Palestinian families have already fled as the
Israeli military expands the so-called “yellow line" in Gaza.
More than 71,400 people, mostly women and children, have been
killed and over 171,000 others injured since the beginning of the
Israeli regime’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
The UN rights office has urged Israel to end its “unlawful presence
in the occupied Palestinian territory, including by dismantling all
settlements and evacuating all settlers, and to respect the
right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
_____________________________________________
Nearly 90% of people in Arab countries
oppose normalization with Israel: Poll
January 8th, 9:53am
(PressTV)
An overwhelming majority of people across the Arab world
oppose recognizing Israel and reject normalization of ties,
according to a new regional opinion survey.
The Arab Opinion Index 2025 -- conducted by the Doha-based
Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, found that 87%
of respondents opposed their countries recognizing Israel,
while just 6% said they supported such a move.
The survey results come despite the US-brokered Abraham
Accords, under which several Arab states normalized
relations with Israel in 2020.
Among the small minority who backed normalization, about
half said it should occur only after the establishment of
an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.
Libya and Jordan recorded the highest rates of rejection of
recognizing Israel, at 96% and 95% respectively, followed
by Kuwait at 94%, the occupied Palestinian territories
at 91%, Lebanon at 89%, and Morocco and Qatar,
also at 89%.
The results also revealed that respondents from the
Persian Gulf and North African regions --- were
among the most opposed to recognition.
The index noted significant changes in the positions of some
countries, most notably Sudan, where the percentage of
those supporting recognition of Israel fell to 7%, down
from 13% to 23% between 2013 and 2022.
The percentage of supporters in Morocco also decreased from
20% in 2022, following the signing of the normalization
agreement, to 6% in 2025.
In contrast, the percentage of those rejecting recognition
in Kuwait rose to 94%, compared to 85% in 2022.
Those opposed to recognition of Israel attributed their stance to
the regime's colonial, apartheid, and expansionist nature, and
its continued occupation of Palestinian territories, while
cultural or religious justifications were largely absent
from the arguments for rejection.
The report emphasized that these reasons reflect a consistent
position in Arab public opinion, and that no fundamental shift
in this direction is expected ------ as long as Israel's colonial
nature persists.
Iraqi govt. rejects any kind of normalization with Israeli regime
The Iraqi prime minister categorically dismisses the possibility of
diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime, asserting that the
notion of normalization is incompatible with its principles.
The Arab Opinion Index 2025 is the result of the ninth cycle of the
periodic Arab Opinion Index survey. It was prepared over a year
and carried out in the field between November 2024 to August
2025, in 15 Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on Tuesday that it
had identified 138 listings on platforms operating in Spain
and notified the companies to “immediately remove or
block” the content.
Authorities warned that failure to comply could result in further
government action, though the penalties were not specified.
The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Pablo Bustinduy, condemned the
listings, saying they help “normalize and perpetuate a colonial
regime considered illegal under international law.”
The move is a part of measures introduced by Prime Minister
Pedro Sanchez’s government to support Palestine and hold
Israel accountable for its genocidal aggression in Gaza.
Sanchez has repeatedly denounced the international community
for oscillating --- between “indifference” and “complicity” with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This latest move builds on a series of measures Spain has adopted
in recent months ---- to confront Israel over its illegal settlement
enterprise and military aggression.
In September 2025, the Spanish government banned imports
of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the
occupied Palestinian territories.
Sanchez said the goal is “to stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue
its perpetrators -------- and support the Palestinian population.”
The Spanish government has prohibited ships and aircraft
carrying weapons directed towards Israel from entering
its ports or airspace.
The country has said that it will ----- deny entry to
anyone directly involved in the atrocities in Gaza.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank -- are considered
illegal under international law, a position upheld by the United
Nations and the majority of the global community.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a
landmark advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of
Palestinian territories illegal -- and calling for the removal
of all settlements from the West Bank and East al-Quds.
Since recognizing the Palestinian state - in 2024, Spain
has been one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s
genocide in Gaza.
Israel has so far killed more than 71,000 Palestinians since
launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023,
before a ceasefire deal, brokered by the United States,
was reached in the strip last October.
Image: No thanks to Israeli goods App
The world and her daughter are calling for a boycott of the genocidal colonial apartheid state of Israel.
Place yourself on the right side of joy and sorrow by joining the world's boycott - say ''no'' to evil!
Keir Hardie - Britain's first Labour MP - opposedWorld War One.
His namesake is stammering his way in the opposite direction.
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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
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Chris Bryant Labour MP From Wikipedia
(aka 1962-1986: Mr Christopher John Bryant 1986-1991: The Reverend Christopher John Bryant, 1991-2001: Mr Christopher John Bryant, 2001-: Mr Christopher John Bryant MP.)
Born in Cardiff, to a Scottish mother & a Welsh father, Bryant grew up in Cardiff, Wales (where his father worked for 5 years), and Cheltenham.
He was educated at Cheltenham College, an independent school for boys in the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, where he was captain of the school swimming team, and Mansfield College at the University of Oxford, where he graduated in 1983, with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English. This was later promoted to a Master of Arts degree (MA (Oxon)), as per tradition.
After completing his first degree, Bryant began training to be a priest in the Church of England at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, in Oxfordshire. There, he obtained a degree in theology.
Although a member of the Conservative Party, and an elected office-holder in the Oxford University Conservative Association, he joined the Labour Party in 1986, after leaving Oxford.
He was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in 1987. He served as a Curate at the Church of All Saints, High Wycombe, from 1986 to 1989; then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough, as well as travelling in Latin America.
In 1991 Bryant left the ordained ministry, after deciding that being gay and being a priest, were incompatible. Statements made by Richard Harries, then Bishop of Oxford, also influenced his decision.
After leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant worked as the election agent to the Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party, where he helped Frank Dobson hold his seat in the 1992 general election.
From 1993, he was Local Government officer for the Labour Party; he lived in Hackney and was elected to Hackney Borough Council in 1993, serving until 1998. He became Chair of the Christian Socialist Movement.
He is both a member of the Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. From 1994 to 1996 he was London manager of the leader-grooming "charity", Common Purpose.
He was Labour candidate for Wycombe, in the 1997 general election (he lost by 2,370 votes), and Head of European Affairs for the BBC, from 1998.
His selection for the very safe Labour seat of Rhondda, South Wales in 2000, shocked many people given Bryant's background – gay, an ex- Anglican vicar, and someone who was a Tory, while studying at Oxford, and a member now, of the Henry Jackson Society 'think tank' --- described by The Guardian newspaper as 'neoconservative'. It is pro-US, pro-NATO and pro-military intervention, as well as being fundamentally anti-socialist.
Fifty-two people applied for the candidature and a local councillor was hot favourite to win, before Bryant was parachuted in.
In 2004, a photograph of Mr Bryant in his underpants, which he had posted to a gay dating website, was published in 'papers.
When an interviewer suggested he was a 'disgrace to the Rhondda', he replied: "They can't get rid of me."
His pay, allowances and some expenses:
The basic annual salary for an MP, from April 1st, 2016 is £74,962. MPs also get expenses: to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, having some- where to live in London, plus, in their constituency and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.
His MP's expenses story:
Chris Bryant changed second home twice to claim £20,000: the deputy leader of the House of Commons, "flipped" his second home twice, in 2 years, allowing him to claim almost £20,000 for renovations and fees.
Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda, split over £92,000 of expenses between 3 properties in Wales and London --- within five years.
In 2004, he attempted to claim £58,000 to overhaul his second home in Wales, after allegedly complaining that properties in his constituency were "terrace or mine owners' houses".
Mr Bryant, a former Church of England clergyman, wanted the money for a new bathroom & kitchen, and to demolish his conservatory. He'd bought the detached house for £97,500, under a year earlier.
He submitted a claim to the Commons fees office for £58,493.26 --- almost 3 times the annual maximum. He noted that the claim exceeded his allowance.
His alleged justification was disclosed... in correspondence between Commons officials. By email, an official wrote: "He had problems finding a suitable property because in the Rhondda there is a choice mainly of terraced property or mine owners' houses." When approached by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Bryant said: "I have never said or thought anything of the sort".
In all, he successfully claimed over £13,000 for renovations, repairs & appliances, in 2004. Along with other bills, his annual claim was £20,902.
In April 2005, he flipped his expenses to his flat in west London, which he bought for £400,000 in April 2002. He also claimed £630 a month for mortgage interest, along with other bills. After claiming over £3,600 over 3 months, he sold the flat in July 2005 for £477,000.
Mr Bryant used his profits to buy a more expensive flat in west London, which was valued at £670,000. He immediately flipped his second home expenses there, claiming almost £6,400 in stamp duty, legal fees and mortgage fees, incurred in the purchase.
He then began claiming interest of £1,000 a month on the mortgage. He also claimed a further £6,000 a year for the flat's service charge and ground rent.
In all, he claimed £92, 415 in second home expenses, from 2004 to 2009.
Mr Bryant said at the time: "I moved flat in London, so as to be closer to Parliament."
Research by Channel 4 News in 2015 found that at least 46 MPs had this kind of system in place – a move one Labour backbencher described as “a new fiddle”. Channel 4 reported then:
“Our investigation found that many of the MPs bought their London properties with the help of the taxpayer, when a previous expenses system allowed them to claim back mortgage payments. But when those claims were banned, following the expenses scandal, they switched to letting out their properties, in some cases for up to £3,000 a month. They then started claiming expenses for rent and hotels in the capital.”
Among those identified was Chris Bryant, shadow leader of the House of Commons. He had already bought a penthouse in London back in 2005 and claimed around £1,000 a month in mortgage claims under the old system.
But after the expenses scandal, he started renting the property out. It’s since been advertised by estate agents as having a private lift and a porter, with rent at about £3,000 a month. Meanwhile, Bryant moved into a new flat;- claiming his own rent on expenses.
Image: Russian scientists and Scottish ones
Russian/Scottish scientists hail long-range secure quantum communication system.
A group of scientists from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has developed a new approach to constructing quantum communication systems for secure data exchange.
The experimental device based on the results of the research is capable of transmitting single-photon quantum signals across distances of 250 klmtrs or more, which is on par with its cutting edge analogues, the ITMO press-service says.
"Now researchers are on a mission -- to create a fully-fledged quantum cryptographic system, that will generate & distribute quantum keys and transmit useful data simultaneously", ITMO says.
Information security is becoming more and more of a critical issue not only for large companies, banks and defense enterprises but even for small businesses and individual users.
But the data encryption algorithms we currently use for protecting our data are imperfect - in the long-term, their logic can be cracked. Regardless of how complex and intricate the algorithm is, getting around it, is just a matter of time.
Unlike algorithm-based encryption, systems that protect information, by making use of fundamental laws of quantum physics, can make data transmission totally immune to hacker attacks, in the future.
Information in a quantum channel is carried by single photons that change irreversibly if an eavesdropper tries to intercept them. The legitimate users will instantly know about any kind of intervention.
Researchers at the Quantum Information Centre of the International Institute of Photonics and Optical Information Technology at ITMO Uni., Russia, along with their colleagues from the Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, have devised a new way to generate and distribute, quantum bits.
This makes it possible to share quantum signals --- via optical fibres --- 250 kilometres in distance.
"To transmit quantum signals, we use the so- called side frequencies," says Artur Gleim, head of the Quantum Information Centre, at ITMO University,
"This unique approach gives us a number of advantages -- such as a considerable simplification of the device architecture and the large pass-through capacity of the quantum channel. In terms of bit rate and operating distances, our system is comparable to absolute champions in the field of quantum communications."
According to Robert Collins, research associate at the Institute of Photonics & Quantum Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, and one of the authors of the study, this may become a pivotal point for the whole field of quantum communication and cryptography:
"Down the track, this new approach can enable smooth coexistence of numerous data streams with different wavelengths in one single optical cable. On top of it, these quantum streams can be fed into the already existing fibre optic lines --- along with conventional communications."
The research paper is published in the Optics Express journal.
Scottish universities are to be congratulated for their strong & growing links with Chinese and Russian universities....
What a shame, that Wales is lying low --- with academics too scared to break from US military research.
Image: BRICS
Image: March 26 London anti cuts demo
KILLING THE ELDERLY BY CLOSING CARE HOMES
Did you know that each time a local authority
closes a care home for the elderly, within 8
months, around half the residents are dead?
Campaigners liken the cuts and their effect to euthanasia of the UK's elderly. What to do?
We can start by urging our MPs to sign EDM 2251:
EDM 2251: The contents
This House notes with deep concern the worsening crisis for elderly care as growing numbers of local authority and private care homes face closure
Acknowledges concerns that the loss of elderly people's care homes causes fear, anxiety and, in many cases, a higher mortality rate, when vulnerable, elderly people are forced to leave their homes
Further notes that the Southern Cross crisis will increase needs for local authority care
And therefore calls on the government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths after closures, of local authority care homes, and impose a moratorium on the closure of local authority care homes, until that inquiry publishes its results, to ensure that vulnerable, elderly people's lives are not put at further risk.
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MAKING THE CONNECTION IN WALES
Households across three more English areas will be able to access superfast broadband in the latest phase of a Government scheme to connect rural homes and businesses.
The £50 million funding package for Devon and Somerset (£30 million), Norfolk (£15 million) and Wiltshire (£4 million) will aid the roll- out of superfast broadband services unable to be reached by the market alone.
Areas will also receive financial support from their local authorities and private investors, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport says.
So it's Broadband Heaven for England...
and crapola for Wales' broadband - the
slowest, worst Broadband in the UK !!!
Lib Dems in Scotland might have received a pummeling for Clegg and his betrayals, yet, in Scotland, their campaign centred on it becoming the "most connected country in Europe," to massively boost their economy.
In Wales, which political party is now willing to put into practice scientists' recommendations: that Wales' hilly topography requires establishing
free 'wireless' broadband?
It could connect the people of Rhondda and the world, boosting Wales' economic regeneration, like no other move.Wireless technology is now supplying free broadband to an entire island off New Zealand's coast.
Come on; if New Zealand can do it - so can we !!!
Image: China's rapeseed blossoms this Spring.
Western China has embraced "green-mode development" - with painful changes from which, Wales could well learn.
Eastern China has seen fast growth and urban mess. The West, a mining and agricultural area, has not.
Xi'an Chan-ba Ecological District, is a model for reclaiming old mining areas.
It took six hard years, but now Xi'an is showing the world how best to change, by turning a badly polluted rubbish landfill site, into an all new environment-friendly development.
As China's economic focus moves from east to west, it's using the lessons learned during 30 or more years of rapid industrial development.
The green way for China's west, is to combine green industrialization & green urbanization.
The western region's strategy is to adopt effective energy-saving and environmental protection technologies... AND to extend its industry through science and products unique to China's West, together with strong vertical growth in agriculture and all its ancilliary economic & professional spin-offs.
In undertaking this industrial revolution, the western region will keep a sharp eye out - to avoid all polluting non-sustainable industries.
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A BIG DROP OF HONEY !!!
Spring is beekeeping and honey-processing season in Yunnan province, in China.
Waves of bees flit across vast fields of flowers.
Local beekeepers and many from other places, such as Sichuan and Fujian provinces - set up their base in tents among the rapeseed farms.
The 430,000 hectares of rapeseed blooms in Luoping attract myriads of bees, which produce 15 - 20 million tons of honey a year.
Local people now look to brand their county as a honey production base & increase sales to outside markets.
Luoping Tianyuanmiyu Bee Industry Co Chair, Zhu Hongkun, founded his enterprise in 2009.
It mainly produces honey, propolis and propolis powder.
His company works with 270 plus beekeepers, who each earn 80,000 yuan a year on average.
Some earn 200,000 yuan annually, Zhu says.
Who says beauty endowed by nature isn't worth a fortune?
The whole of the uplands of south Wales could be as beautiful & productive, if used wisely!
Image: retirement China style
CHINA's PREMIER POINTS WAY FORWARD
As the Tories threaten a "bonfire of the Quangos", perhaps Wales should take note. Now extracting all our mineral wealth has been stopped (apart from sand and rock) we find ourselves "in" the 1st World of the UK, but with a 3rd World economy, only just kept going by quangos which promise much... but deliver little... and rely on weak public support.
We could WAKE UP & understand that we either do something, or stay as begging bowl cases.
China's premier points the way forward for Wales:
"Industrial restructuring is the key... only by developing energy-efficient, indigenous innovative and high value added products can our companies and economy, achieve sustainable development."
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WHILE FRANCE, GREECE, IRELAND, ETC, STRUGGLE TO STOP THE PENSION AGE RISING HIGHER AND HIGHER...
An online survey on qq.com, a popular Chinese news portal, finds that 91% of its over 800,000 respondents, are against raising the current official Chinese retirement age.
745,123 of those surveyed say they oppose raising retirement ages -- 72,456 support it.
China's scholars & the public have been debating whether to raise the retirement age, for the past few years, but the issue rose to prominence after remarks by an official.
Wang Xiaochu, the official vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security, said at a press conference that the government was "studying the matter"...
The retirement age in China is generally set at 60 for men and 50-55 for women.
Wow! Bet you didn't know that !!!
Image: unemployment in Wales
FARMING AND SCIENCE COULD REGENERATE WALES
A new UN General Assembly report warns "vast areas" of cultivated land are lost each year, and that this could lead to unrest.
The report says up to 30 million hectares, an area the size of Italy, is lost each year to environmental degradation, industry & urbanization - the growth of cities - and all because of speculative building and greed.
The UN special rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, gives the example of eastern Africa, where the amount of cultivated land has declined by half --- in just one generation! "
As rural populations grow and competition with large industrial units increases, plots cultivated by smallholders are shrinking year after year," says De Schutter.
"Farmers are often relegated to soils that are arid, hilly or without irrigation."
The UN officer also mentions India as another example, where the average landholding fell from 2.6 hectares in 1960 to 1.4 hectares in 2000. A cut of nearly half in 40 years!
He says 500 million small farmers suffer from hunger, partly because their right to land is being violated. The expert warns of the devastating consequences, as foreign investors compete for larger and larger areas of the world's land for "their" agriculture.
Rhondda Records says Wales could rebuild its new economy by basing it on a fresh approach to high-value added products, using science and agriculture... such as the Altzeim project in Gwent.