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DEPLETED URANIUM DANGER !!!!!!!!!!


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21CW reports that DU munitions are probably 


being (or going to be) used in Ukraine ...OMG 


... if true, this is a terrible war-crime



 

Good Luck everyone... 


We know our contribution is little, but
in today's circumstances, where the
USA is pushing for war in Europe,
by using their 'clients' in Kiev...
which could end all life.. we
will continue on all days
...to pass on the most
pertinent news on
the Peace Page.


'Peace Love' below.....
is, Poet claims, ''delicious'' reggae.
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Journalist: To end war ------

prosecute US, UK 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.”


 


Dan Welch: Mourn the millions of victims 


of US war policy, not its chief apologist


 


US political commentator Daniel Patrick Welch 


decries the use of official funerals, like Colin 


Powell's. Powell died on Monday, at the age 


of 84, due to complications from COVID-19.


 


Both Democrats and Republicans lauded the four-


star general as a giant of public service and an 


African-American hero. They praised the US’s 


first Black secretary of state, and his leader-


ship and integrity.


 


Former US President Donald Trump, however, 


lambasted the media on Tuesday for what he 


said was too-favorable coverage of Powell


 following his death.


 


"Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big 


mistakes on Iraq and - famously - so-called 


weapons of mass destruction, be treated 


in death so beautifully by the Fake 


News Media. Hope that happens 


to me someday," Trump said


 in a statement.

 

ENJOY TODAY: FIGHT FOR
ASSANGE'S FREEDOM !!! 

_______________________________________________________






London to provide long-range 

artillery, anti-ship missiles, 
night vision, elec. jamming

plus supply lift drones...
to Kiev

May 19th, 3:02pm (TASS)

 

 Britain’s new package of military aid to Ukraine will

 include long-range artillery, shore-to-ship missiles 

and drones, as follows from a news release... 

issued by the office of PMi Boris Johnson
following a conversation with the

Ukrainian President, Vladimir
Zelensky, on Thursday.

 

"Noting the recent announcement of an additional

 £1.3 billion, in UK military aid for Ukraine, the
Prime Minister set out -- the support flowing
to Ukraine’s defense, including long-range

 artillery, shore-to-ship missiles and
unmanned drones," the news
release reads.

 

Johnson also touched upon the global food price 

hikes against the background of the conflict in 

Ukraine and discussed with Zelensky "options 

to open up critical sea and land supply routes 

for Ukrainian grain stocks." Both sides.. 

committed.. "to direct their teams to

 work urgently on the next steps."

 

"The leaders discussed progress in negotiations and

 agreed to step up work with allies, including the
US, France and Germany, to define the longer-
term security architecture for Ukraine,"
the communique said.

 

On May 7th, Britain said that it would spend an extra

 £1.3 billion on military, economic and humanitarian

 support for Ukraine. Earlier, Johnson said that this

 package of aid would include --- radio-electronic 

warfare means, including GPS signal jamming

 equipment, counter-battery radars and 

night vision instruments.

 

At the end of April, Britain’s Defense (sic) Secretary,

 Ben Wallace confirmed that London was going to

 supply to Kiev Brimstone high-tech missiles, 

adding that the missile in question, was 

meant for ground forces and not naval 

ships. Also, Britain declared the 

intention to provide to Kiev 

heavy lift drones --- for 

delivering supplies 

to troops.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24th,

launched a special military operation in Ukraine

following a request for assistance, from the 

leaders of the Donbass republics. The US,

EU, UK & a number of other countries, 

imposed their large-scale [illegal]
sanctions on Russia.

 

 

_________________________________


UK Chancellor Admits 


Government ''Can’t'' 


Stop Inflation


May 19th, 1:37pm (FNA)


 


Chancellor Rishi Sunak, stated there is nothing
the government can do to stop rising inflation 


impacting Britain’s families, as he resists a


clamour from Conservatives --- including 


former chancellor Kenneth Clarke ---
for urgent help for those struggling
with price hikes.


 


Instead, Sunak used a speech to the Confederation 


of British Industry (CBI) to promise tax breaks for


 business in the autumn Budget, aimed at 


stimulating sluggish productivity, The 


Independent reported.


 


As inflation topped 9 percent for the first time in 40


years, and experts warned that the true rise in 


living costs was closer to 11 percent, for the 


poorest families, the chancellor said he was


''powerless'' to stem global pressures such 


as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and 


supply chain disruptions.


 


“There is no measure - any government could take -


no law we could pass, that can make these global


 forces disappear overnight. The next few months 


will be tough,” he added.


 


Meanwhile, the Bank of England governor Andrew 


Bailey, noted he felt “helpless” to stop inflation.


 


Former Tory chancellor Kenneth Clarke made a 


dramatic intervention, calling for welfare 


increases for the worst-off and 


dismissing Sunak’s 5p cut in 


fuel tax and proposed 1p 


reduction in income tax 


as “a complete waste 


of time”.


 


“I would have done it in the spring statement, raised


 universal credit,” he told LBC radio, adding, “The


 people you’ve got to protect from any fall in 


living standards, if you can, of course, 


the poorest of the poor and the


 lowest paid.”


 


Tory backbencher Robert Halfon, chair of the


 Commons’s Education Committee, noted it 


was a “no-brainer” to put a windfall tax on 


energy companies, to help the poorest 


households pay their bills.


 


While he said he recognised government concerns


 that a levy on North Sea firms could deter 


investment, he added that “desperate 


times call for desperate measures 


and we must do this, and we 


must do it quickly”.


 


Treasury Select Committee chair Mel Stride told 


The Independent it was “definitely” time for the 


chancellor to implement a windfall levy and 


...“channel savings in government, into 


transfer payments targeted on those


 most impacted” by soaring prices.


 


And senior Conservative Sir Bernard Jenkin called for


 a £13.5bln “summer package” of support for the 


most vulnerable, including the reinstatement of 


the £20 uplift to universal credit scrapped by 


Sunak in October and the abolition of VAT


 on domestic fuel.


 


Without immediate action, he warned MPs, “we 


are creating possibly a worse recession than 


is already expected”.


 


Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, 


added even more pressure when he told The


 Independent that the Treasury should 


reconsider the effect of its cost


 of living policies.


 


“They need to come up with more measures to


 support those who need it most --- not those 


actions which are going to make their core 


supporters happier. Prices are rising at a 


faster rate than incomes.... Consumer 


confidence is already at the second 


lowest level on record before we’ve 


even seen inflation peak,” he said, 


noting, “You need interest rates


 to be higher, to bring inflation 


back down.”


 


Dales added that the Bank of England’s key 


rate ought to rise as high as three percent


 in the months ahead.


 


Several leading economic think tanks, including


 the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the


 Resolution Foundation, have warned 


inflation is now disproportionately 


hitting the country’s


 poorest families.


 


The IFS found the bottom 10 percent of UK 


households by income faced an inflation


 rate of 10.9 percent in the 12 months
to April. This --- was 3 percentage
points higher than the inflation
rate experienced by the
richest 10 percent.


 


“Most of this difference comes from the fact that 


the poorest households spend 11 percent of 


their total household budget on gas and 


electricity, compared to 4 percent for 


the richest households,” the 


IFS announced.


 


“The living standards implications of this economic


 crisis are huge, but the government has the power 


to support those hardest hit, by bringing forward


 benefits uprating – something which is needed 


to prevent this parliament being the worst on 


record for living standards,” said Jack 


Leslie, senior economist at the 


Resolution Foundation.


 


Jake Berry, chair of the Northern Research Group 


of Tory MPs, backed the return of the uplift and 


“something radical on VAT” too.


 


“It’s now or never; now is the time for government 


to act. Urgency is required, people can’t wait to


 the November budget to pay their bills,” 


he added.


 


But Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered his MPs 


to vote down Labour’s demands for an emergency


 budget to tackle the cost of living crisis, as well 


as Liberal Democrat proposals to slash VAT 


from 20 to 17.5 percent... to save the 


average family £600.


 


Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer taunted the prime


 minister in the Commons, saying he “can’t make


 his mind up” about a windfall tax, to help 


alleviate the cost of energy bills, even 


though it was “inevitable” he would 


eventually cave in to pressure.


 


Sir Keir added that every day that the government 


holds back on windfall tax on energy companies,


it costs consumers £53mln in additional energy 


costs, at a time when BP and Shell alone made


 £12.37bln profit in the first three months 


of 2022.


 


Though Sunak has said a windfall tax remains “on 


the table”, Treasury sources indicated that no 


decision on a package of help is likely until 


the next review of the energy price cap, in 


August, when regulator Ofgem is
expected to announce rises of
up to £1,000 for the autumn.


 


Sunak promised the CBI annual dinner in London that


 “where we can act, we will” ...on the cost of living 


crisis, including splashing money in the Budget 


...on tax breaks and allowances designed to 


reward businesses that invest in capital, 


innovation and training.


 


“We need you to invest more, train more, and innovate


 more,” he told his business audience, adding, “In the


 autumn Budget, we will cut your taxes to encourage


 you to do all those things.”


 


James Smith, research director at the Resolution


 Foundation think tank, raised questions over the


 balance of priorities in Sunak’s speech.


 


“The chancellor is right... to focus on restarting growth 


tomorrow, and that more private sector investment is 


crucial to that,” Smith told The Independent, adding


 “But he also needs to make sure he provides 


targeted support to low- and middle-income


 families today who are being hit hardest


 by the inflation surge.”


 


Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds 


also critiqued the government’s strategy.


 


“The government’s inability to deal with the cost of


 living crisis & tax rises at the worst possible time


 has seen business investment fall in the first 


quarter this year,” he said, adding, “They 


should bring forward an emergency 


budget now with proper support for 


businesses --- including a cut in 


business rates for small firms 


--- and support for energy-


intensive industries.”


 


And Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson


 Christine Jardine... stated, “Rishi Sunak is 


promising tax cuts for businesses while 


hiking taxes for families. It shows he’s 


completely out of touch with those 


struggling with soaring bills and 


fuel prices."


 


“Every day that goes without any extra support, 


more people are being plunged into debt and 


poverty. If the chancellor was serious about 


helping people cope, he’d announce an 


emergency tax cut now,” Jardine


 continued.


 


 


____________________________________






"Peak of hatred": Patriarch Kirill 

on West canceling Russian 

culture

May 17th, 3:50pm (TASS)

 

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, branded

the actions of those Western countries canceling 

Russian culture --- as the peak of hatred. He

expressed this opinion, on Tuesday, at the 

Federation Council within the framework 

of the 30th International Educational 

Readings... entitled "On the 350th 

anniversary of the birth of Peter 

the Great: a secular world and 

religious devoutness."

 

"Canceling Russian culture in the West proves their

society’s sad moral condition. Their attempt.. to

eradicate the culture of one nation. or another,

is the peak of hatred. The only thing worse is

the attempt to physically eliminate a nation, 

that became undesirable," the 16th Primate 

of the Russian Orthodox Church, said.

 

He also noted that Russia even "during the cold war

 and the battle of ideologies" felt the connection 

with European culture. According to him, the 

Russians perceive Western classical 

literature, music and art, as an 

"intrinsic part...  of their rich 

Christian civilized heritage."

 

"And nowadays we continue to view it as such 

despite everything that is happening. I hope 

that those who battle Pushkin, Dostoevsky, 

boycott Tchaikovsky competitions... and 

refuse to play Rachmaninov, sooner or 

later, will realize the shame and 

insanity...  of their committed 

actions," the Patriarch said.




__________________________________




‘Collapse of a hegemon’: 


Global Times predicts 


Russia’s key role 


on world stage


May 16th, 11:27am


https://en.news-front.info/


 


The massive economic war launched by the 


collective West against Russia, has turned 


into a total isolation of the United States 


– this is the conclusion reached by 


observers of world affairs and by 


columnists of the Global Times.


 


According to the analysts, the Russian special


 operation to force Ukraine to peace, has 


become a real trigger for a total 


transformation of the current


 international world order.


 


The US hegemon is ''not destined for the best 


fate'', the authors share their predictions...


 


“It is increasingly believed that the conflict and the


 events surrounding it represent the beginning of 


the end of an unjust world order dominated by 


the US and the West. The crisis.. is a prelude 


to the establishment of a new international 


order,” the publication cites analysts.


 


''The U.S... has been pushing a destructive agenda 


on the world in a stubborn and uncompromising


manner --- giving countries roles, in a world 


scenario written by the US... for its own 


exclusive benefit.''


 


''The only one who has been able to stand firm


 against the US hegemony that has managed 


to take hold, has been Russia,'' said Zhang 


Weiwei, head of China’s Fudan University


 Institute.


 


“Moscow has a profound goal: it wants to end the


unipolar world... that has taken shape since the 


Cold War, dominated by US hegemony. Russia 


wants to promote a new multipolar order, 


in which it, itself, will be a key player,” 


Weiwei said.


 


In addition, the authors of the materials emphasize


 that not all countries in the world have expressed 


a desire to join the economic war - actually 


declared by America - to Moscow.


 


“It is fair to say: when it comes to sanctions against 


Russia, the US and its allies are an isolated and


 marginalised group, in the international 


community,” the publicists report.


 


Sanctions, in general, are a favourite lever for the US


... to exert subtle pressure on undesirable countries.


The economic harassment of Russia has exposed,


according to the analysts, the US’s flawed
nature: that of violently undermining
the pillars of global stability.


 


“Western countries are stuck in a Cold War mindset


 and are zealously engaged in unilateral sanctions


- banding together in small groups. The vast 


majority of non-Western countries, 


represented by China and Russia, 


oppose power politics and bloc 


confrontation - and advocate 


true multilateralism,” the 


Global Times reports.


 


At the same time, the vitality of Russia's economy


shocks even experienced overseas economic 


sceptics – Western “well-wishers” cannot 


understand how - under the most severe 


and unprecedented economic pressure 


- Russia has managed not only to with-


stand the powerful blows aimed at it, 


but has also managed... to deftly 


increase energy exports, and 


provide full security for the 


well-being of its own 


population... in 


this situation.


 


 


____________________________________



 Enjoying unwavering US support, 

Israel will press on with 

unspeakable crimes: 

Iran rights official

May 15th, 1:05pm (PressTV)

 

Iran’s top human rights official says the Israeli regime,

 owing to the United States’ unswerving support, will

 continue its “unspeakable crimes” ..with no end in 

sight - urging the international community to 

make a stand to put an end to 

Tel Aviv’s atrocities.

 

Kazem Gharibabadi, the secretary of Iran’s High Council
for Human Rights and the Judiciary chief’s deputy for
international affairs, made the remarks in a
tweet, on Sunday, in reaction to Israel’s
attack on the mourners attending the 

funeral procession of the veteran
Palestinian journalist -- Shireen 

Abu Akleh -- who was brutally
killed by Israeli troops in the
occupied West Bank city of
Jenin... on Wednesday.




“How can one expect the blood-thirsty Israeli regime

 which head-shots journalists, to respect their dead

 bodies?” Gharibabadi asked.

 

“Enjoying the United States’ unwavering support for 

decades, the regime’s unspeakable crimes will

continue with no end in sight --- unless the 

international community makes a stand!”

 

The top human rights official also posted a graphic

 video of Israeli forces’ violence against mourners 

during Abu Akleh’s burial ceremony.

 

The Israeli troops assaulted the Palestinian mourners to
prevent them from carrying the coffin of Abu Akleh

from the St Louis French Hospital in the Sheikh 

Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied al-Quds to 

the Roman Catholic church, in the Old City, 

before taking her to Mount Zion Cemetery, 

where she was laid to rest, alongside her 

deceased parents.

 

Violence erupted as the Palestinian mourners 

began to move Abu Akleh’s casket from the

hospital in Sheikh Jarrah, in the occupied 

al-Quds.


The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 

at least 33 people were wounded... in the 

Israeli attack on the funeral procession.

 

Ahead of the funeral, the Israeli regime had imposed 

a number of restrictions, including on the number of 

mourners attending the service... and the use of

Palestinian flags and posters. The occupying 

forces even stormed Abu Akleh’s home, 

earlier in the day, attempting to tear 

down a Palestinian flag that was 

erected in her honour.

 

Abu Akleh was highly regarded by viewers across the

 Muslim world - particularly in Palestine - where she

 was at the forefront of covering Israeli crimes and 

occupation for over two decades. Her killing... has 

proven yet again that the Israeli regime is willing 

to go to such great lengths --- to conceal its 

oppression of the Palestinians.

 

Video footage from the moments after Abu Akleh was

 shot showed the 51-year-old journalist wearing a 

blue vest marked “Press.” At least two of her

 colleagues who were with her said they had

 deliberately come under Israeli sniper fire.

 

 









_______________________________________________




Unprecedented sanctions 


against Russia to collapse 


international institutions 


— Medvedev


April 8th, 2:20pm (TASS)


 


The current unprecedented sanctions against 


Russia will cause a further collapse of all


 international institutions, Deputy Chair


 of the Russian Security Council,


 Dmitry Medvedev said.


 


He wrote in his Telegram channel on Friday, that


unlawful sanctions always cause a degradation


of the international law system. "The current 


unprecedented in breadth, scope and degree 


of cynical measures of illegal influence.. will


cause a further collapse of all international 


institutions, including above all the UN and


a total disregard for the norms of inter-


national law," the deputy chairman of


the Security Council pointed out.


 


 












_________________________________________________


  



 A New International 

Currency is Being Born

March 14th (Sputnik) 

 

The member states of the Eurasian Economic

Union (EAEU) and China will develop a project

for an independent international monetary and

financial system. This was agreed upon by the

participants in the economic dialogue “A New 

Stage of Monetary, Financial and Economic 

Cooperation between the EAEU and the PRC.

Global Transformations: Challenges and
Solutions”, which was held on March 

11th, via videoconference.

 

It is envisaged that the system will be based 

on a new international currency, which will 

be calculated as an index of the national 

currencies of the participating countries 

and commodity prices. The first draft 

will be submitted for discussion by 

the end of March. 

 

As Sergei Glazyev, Minister for Integration and

Macroeconomics of the EEC, emphasized, 

China was the first in the world to move

to the stage of national economic 

recovery.

 

[Rhondda Records adds What is sad, isn't that US
hegemony will fail as the dollar loses its grip,
but that the British pound will fall with it,
and guess who will suffer?

Our insufferable yacht owning masters?

Guess again.]









Image: World Bee Day


 

 Today, May the 20th, is

 

World Bee Day, 2022.

 

In order to produce a kilogram of honey, a bee has 

to visit four million flowers and fly four times the

distance around the planet.

 

Slovenia proposed that the United Nations proclaim 

May the 20th as World Bee Day. On December 20th,

2017, after three years of international efforts, 

the UN Member States unanimously approved

Slovenia’s proposal and May the 20th was 

proclaimed World Bee Day.

 

Anton Janša's birthday, May 20th,, was declared World

Bee Day at the initiative of Slovenian beekeepers.

 

The fact that Slovenia is an important name in the field

of beekeeping is best illustrated by our rich history, 

which is inextricably linked to this important

agricultural industry. 

 

In his book The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, Janez

Vajkard Valvazor mentioned beehives in the form of 

houses and the people who took care of their tiny

inhabitants. In the 18th century, significant 

progress was made by Peter Pavel Glavar 

(1721–1784) in the field of beekeeping 

knowledge in the territory of present

-day Slovenia. He founded the first 

beekeeping school in Komenda. 

 

His translation of Treatise on the Swarming of Bees 

is important, as is his report, Response to the 

Proposal to Improve Beekeeping in Imperial 

and Royal Hereditary Lands, wherein he 

described the method of beekeeping 

in Slovenia --- and introduced some 

important technical innovations, 

such as the method of breeding 

queens, breeding queens 

outside a hive, and 

transporting bees

 to pasture.

 

The most outstanding figure of Slovenian beekeeping

 is Anton Janša, the first beekeeping teacher at the

 Viennese imperial court, who in the 18th century

 completely revised the hitherto beekeeping 

methods based on his findings and laid the

 foundations of modern beekeeping. 

 

Janša was the first beekeeping teacher in the court of

 the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. By introducing 

beekeeping methods that were successfully used by

 Carniolan beekeepers, he caused a real revolution 

in the beekeeping of the time.

 

There is no life without bees

 

Today, every third spoonful of food depends 

on pollination, and bee products are a rich 

source of essential nutrients.

 

Bees are some of the most important pollinators,

ensuring food and food security, sustainable

agriculture, and biodiversity, and they 

significantly contribute... to the 

mitigation of climate change 

and the conservation of
the environment. 

 

In the long-term, the protection of bees and the

beekeeping sector, can help reduce poverty 

and hunger, as well as preserve a healthy 

environment and biodiversity.

 

Bees are important in terms of sustainable

agriculture, and in creating rural jobs. By 

pollinating... they increase agricultural 

production, thus maintaining diversity 

and variety in our fields and on our 

plates. In addition, they provide 

millions of people with jobs 

and are an important 

source of farmers'

incomes.

 

Nevertheless, scientific studies show that there are

more and more negative effects --- on the health of 

bees, which makes them increasingly endangered. 

 

This, in turn, requires us to take extra care of their 

survival, as harmful factors cause a decline in
the resistance of bees, which affects their 

susceptibility to diseases, pests and 

the like. In addition, this is also 

problematic -- in terms of the 

protection and preservation 

of the environment, as bees 

foster biodiversity in nature 

and have a positive impact 

on the entire ecosystem - 

and are a good indicator 

of the state of the 

environment.

 

 As a result, in 2011 Slovenia became one of the first

 countries in the EU to prohibit the use of certain 

pesticides most harmful to bees.

 

Boštjan NoÄ, initiator of World Bee Day and president

 of the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association, said at

 World Bee Day, in connection with the role
of bees in providing food: 

 

"To talk about reducing world hunger without ensuring

 conditions for the existence of bees and other

 pollinators, is to pull the wool over people's 

eyes. It is time... for everyone to listen
to bees, in particular leaders, and 

decision-makers. From now on,
May the 20th will be a world

wide celebration of bees 

and beekeepers.'' 

 

''I believe that with the proclamation of World Bee Day, 

the world will begin to think more broadly about bees, 

in particular in the context of ensuring the conditions

 for their survival, and thus --- for the survival of the

 human race."

 

A Slovenian natural treasure

 

The importance of beekeeping in Slovenia...  can also 

be seen in numbers: Slovenia has 11,293 beekeepers, 

15,420 apiaries and more than 210,000 bee colonies, 

which is 42% more than ten years ago. It should not

 be overlooked that with five beekeepers per 1,000 

inhabitants, Slovenia ranks at the very top of the 

EU Member States in terms of the number of bee

 keepers per capita. Slovenians are a nation of

 beekeepers, and beekeeping enjoys a status 

equal to that of other types of agricultural 

activity. In Slovenia, awareness of the 

significance of bees and ensuring 

their well-being is, therefore, 

generally high.

 

Their tireless helper is the autochthonous Carniolan

 bee (Apis mellifera carnica) -- which is famous for 

being a hard-working, humble, resistant animal, 

with an excellent sense of orientation.

 

In Slovenia, beekeeping is allowed only with the

 autochthonous Carniolan bee. Slovenia is the 

first EU Member State that provided legal

 protection to bees. The Carniolan bee is 

protected under the Livestock Farming 

Act, & in its pre-accession agreement 

with the EU, Slovenia protected its

territory as the region of origin of 

the Carniolan bee. By so doing, 

it committed itself to doing 

everything possible to 

preserve the bee.

 

It is therefore not surprising that Slovenia has
an Apiculture Museum in Radovljica, and that 

Slovenian beekeepers are well organised 

in local associations under the Slovenian 

Beekeepers’ Association. Slovenian bee

keepers have enhanced the beekeeping

tradition, by expanding it to include 

beekeeping tourism.

 

Honey in Slovenia can be considered our unique
natural treasure. The success of beekeeping
production is influenced by many factors, 

namely weather conditions, winter 

losses of bee families, losses due 

to bee diseases, poisoning and 

much more. 

 

The production of honey in Slovenia fluctuates from

 year to year, and in 2020 we produced 1,293 tons.

 Beekeepers produced the most honey in 2001, 

i.e. a record of 2,550 tons, and the least in 

2014, amounting to 471 tons. 

 

With their harvest, beekeepers meet more than half 

of domestic consumption demand, so that the rate 

of self-sufficiency in honey, in 2020, was 67%. The

 predominant method of beekeeping is in AŽ-hives; 

in Slovenia most beekeepers are engaged in 

amateur beekeeping or it is a secondary 

activity. 

 

Honey is highly appreciated in Slovenia, as we

 consume about a kilogram per capita per year. 

We prefer to buy it from beekeepers, as more 

than 80% of their produce is sold directly 

from home.

 

Responsible institution: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food |  +386 1 478 90 00 |  





Image: starmer is not amused


 Starmer's 'Hypocritical' Demand
 for Partygate Report --- After 


Labour Probe Delayed Again


January 29th, 4:40pm (Sputnik)






Leaks in April 2020 from barrister Martin Forde's


 inquiry into the Labour row over anti-Semitism 


in its ranks, indicated that senior party staff


 deliberately undermined the former leader 


Jeremy Corbyn's chances of winning 


the 2017 snap general election. But 


elected party officials are yet to 


have sight of his report.


 


British opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has been


 accused of hypocrisy --- after he demanded the 


release of a report into the 'Partygate' scandal.


 


Left-wing members and supporters of Starmer's


Labour Party took to social media to ask when 


a long-delayed Forde Report into anti-Semitism 


and internecine warfare in the official 


opposition, would finally see the


 light of day.


 


That was after the Labour leader tweeted his latest


 demand for the publication of civil servant Sue 


Gray's inquiry into alleged staff parties at 10 


Downing Street during the COVID-19 lock-


down — while pre-empting its findings 


with a repeat of his call for Prime 


Minister Boris Johnson 


to resign.


 


Gray's report, originally set for release last week, 


has been delayed again after Metropolitan Police 


Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick announced


 a formal investigation had been opened. She 


asked Gray to omit details of possible 


breaches of temporary laws against 


socialising brought in during the 


pandemic — offences only 


punishable with a fixed 


penalty fine similar to 


a parking ticket.


 


That prompted Johnson's critics to change tack, from


 demanding a police probe to accusing Dick, who was


 appointed by Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan


 in 2017, of corruptly trying to protect the PM.


 


Leaks from the Forde Inquiry in April 2020 — the


 month Starmer was elected leader - revealed 


that Labour ''apparatchiks'' deliberately 


sabotaged the party's campaign, in 


the 2017 snap general election, in 


a bid to undermine Starmer's
left-wing predecessor, 


Jeremy Corbyn.


 


Party officials have confirmed reports citing inside


 sources last July, that the party's financial woes 


since Starmer took over, were partly due to
£2 million spent dealing with legal claims
by those accused in the leak - while the


slump in membership, from 550,000 


to around 400,000... severely 


cut income.


 


Replies to Starmer's tweet called him out


 for "hypocrisy" and stalling.


 


Martin Forde QC had promised his report would be


 delivered at a meeting of Labour's ruling National 


Executive Committee (NEC) on Tuesday. But the 


barrister wrote to the party on Monday saying 


it was not yet ready — while claiming it was 


"largely completed and we hope to be in a 


position to deliver it next month."


 


"We’ve been let down," Labour General Secretary 


David Evans reportedly told the NEC, calling the 


latest delay a source of professional 


embarrassment.


 


The same meeting voted by 23 to 14 against a motion 


to re-admit Corbyn to Labour's Parliamentary group. 


 


Starmer ordered his former boss suspended from 


the party in October 2020 and withdrew the 


Labour whip from him --- after Corbyn 


insisted that anti-Semitism claims 


against the Labour party, had
been exaggerated by
 its enemies.


 


 


___________________________


 


The bakers’ disaffiliation
from Labour --- a wake-up
call to the whole movement

September 29th, (Morning Star)

 

The decision by the bakers’ union to disaffiliate 

from Labour ends an historic relationship older 

than the party itself.

 

President Ian Hodson notes that Keir Starmer 

should “hang his head in shame”, at having 

provoked the end of ties that stretch 

across three centuries.

 

With motions opposed by the leader’s office... passing 

every day, the resignation of his shadow employment 

rights minister, exposing his role in blocking support 

for raising the minimum wage and statutory sick pay 

and now the disaffiliation of a union that helped to 

found the party -- conference 2021 is looking less

like a car crash for Starmer, than a multi-

vehicle pile-up.

 

Labour apparently made numerous promises to the bakers 

that it would take steps to resolve the crisis provoked by 

its threat to “auto-exclude” their president. Its failure to 

deliver on these promises, in time to prevent today’s 

momentous decision, indicates incompetence or 

duplicity; with Starmer’s team, it is difficult
to know which.

 

The reasons the union gives for disaffiliation touch 

on two key features of Keir Starmer’s leadership.

 

The first is the targeting of Hodson in the first place.

 

The decision to ban membership of four left organisations 

this summer, reflects the extreme intolerance and 

authoritarianism that characterise Labour’s 

“new management.”

 

Transparently a bid to hound out socialists, the party 

machine’s behaviour since ---  excluding members 

for having had dealings with these groups before 

they were banned... demanding that members 

prove a negative, by providing evidence that 

they did not support these organisations — 

are a travesty of justice... which 

demonstrates the contempt in 

which Labour officialdom 

holds Labour members.

 

In picking on Hodson, Labour threw a gauntlet to the bakers. 

As general secretary Sarah Woolley says, BFAWU members 

saw the attack on their president as an attack on them. 

“When you pick on one of us you pick on all of us,”

 the union statement reads; “that’s what 

solidarity means.”

 

The BFAWU here is grappling with a fundamental question 

for the whole left: how do we respond --- to the smearing 

and persecution of thousands of committed socialists 

& trade unionists, by the current Labour leadership? 

How do we stand with them?

 

The second is the question on so many trade 

unionists’ lips: what is the Labour Party 

doing for us?

 

Why is it opposing pay rises for key workers who have 

kept the country running through an unprecedented 

crisis? Why is it opposing higher sick pay, in a 

global pandemic — when union after union 

has reported its members being terrified 

even to get tested for Covid, because 

they can’t afford time off sick?

 

The two aspects are of course interlinked. Labour’s 

current leadership are, to quote Hodson, “in the 

bosses’ pocket.” And it is engaged in an all-

consuming campaign to smash the radical

 left, that gave hope of real change to so 

many in the party’s very recent past.

 

Its purges of a left that was easily routed at the last 

leadership election, like its desperation to change 

rules around reselecting MPs... that posed no 

threat to any sitting MP, might smack

 of paranoia.

 

But they reflect a Labour right that understands the left 

is popular.. and that its socialist programme commands 

wide public sympathy. No chance, however small, of
a left resurgence can be allowed. We must never 

underestimate the ruthlessness of the right - 

but its very extremism is testament to the 

potential it knows the left still has.

 

The bakers are a fighting union. Their McStrike campaigns 

have given them one of the highest profiles of any union 

among the young, and the delegates who have voted to 

disaffiliate are poorly paid workers, mostly from old 

“red wall” seats.

 

If Labour loses people like these, its chances of electoral 

recovery shrink still further. All affiliated unions have 

good reason --- to make the bakers’ departure
a wake-up call.

 

______________________________________________





UK Labour leader says it’s ‘not right’ 


to claim only women have cervixes


September 26th, 11:25am (RT)


 


Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, 


claimed on Sunday that people should not say only 


women have a cervix, calling it “not right,” after 


one of his MPs received threats online for 


making the statement.


 


When asked by BBC presenter Andrew Marr whether it 


was “transphobic to say only women have a cervix,” 


Starmer replied, “It’s something that shouldn’t be 


said. It’s not right.”


 


Pressed on whether someone who does think only women 


have a cervix, would be welcome in the Labour Party, 


Starmer said, “We need to have a mature, respectful 


debate about trans rights and… bear in mind that 


the trans community, are among the most 


marginalised and abused communities.”


 


“Wherever we’ve got to in the law, we need to go further,


 and we want to go further,” he continued, concluding, 


however, that the Labour Party conference would be


 “a place which is safe for that debate to take place.”


 


Starmer made the comments, after the Labour MP for 


Canterbury, Rosie Duffield, received threats online 


for saying “only women have a cervix”. In 


response to the threats, she said she 


would feel unsafe attending this 


week’s conference. Starmer 


told Marr he had assured 


Duffield she would be 


safe at the event.


 


Many social media users criticised Starmer’s
comments, accusing him of “denying the
biological truth and existence of
the female sex”.


 


“Keir Starmer has blown it. He’s not getting my vote,”


 tweeted one woman, while another predicted the 


stance would “haunt” the Labour Party leader 


for the rest of his career.


 


“I am afraid that it is the case that only women have a 


cervix. Not altogether sure how this biological fact 


ever became remotely controversial,” opined 


Mark Seddon, the ex-media adviser to
former United Nations General
Assembly president María
Fernanda Espinosa.


 


 


_______________________________________
Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary 

Lisa Nandy: Claims Iran Building 

Nukes and Backs Arming Israel 

by James Tweedie

September 2nd, 1:40pm (Sputnik)

 

Israel has long accused Iran of covertly developing 

its own nuclear weapons, in breach of the Nuclear 

Non-Proliferation Treaty and the JCPOA nuclear 

deal with the US, Russia, China, and the 

European Union.

 

Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy has 

said she opposes a ban on arms sales to Israel - 

claiming Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

 

The Wigan MP made the comments at a Jewish 

Representative Council (JRC) meeting, in her 

hometown of Manchester, on Wednesday.

 

She said neither she, nor Shadow Middle East Minister 

Wayne David, "support the blocking of the sale of 

weapons to Israel that helped it deflect rocket 

attacks" during May's Israeli offensive on the 

besieged Gaza Strip, adding: "Israel has a 

right to defend itself and Israel's citizens 

have a right to live in peace 

and security".

 

"We have to be very cautious in relation to Iran", Nandy 

said. "This is a state that is still using... developing 

nuclear weapons, that has shown no signs of 

dropping their hard-line approach".

 

Nuclear Deal

 

Claims by Israel — the only country in the Middle East that 

reportedly has nuclear arms - that Iran is trying to get the 

bomb, have proven a political obstacle to US President
Joe Biden's stated intent to return to the 2015 Joint 

Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal 

with Iran... which his predecessor Donald 

Trump officially withdrew from, in 2018.

 

The JCPOA saw sanctions on Iranian oil exports imposed in
2006, lifted, in return for access to International Atomic 

Energy Agency inspectors to Iranian nuclear facilities.

 

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwah 

or religious judgment against nuclear weapons in the 1990s, 

and has restated that position several times since 2003. But 

in January, the government began enriching uranium to 20 

percent fissile material content — not pure enough for a 

nuclear weapon, but above the level used in most 

power stations.

 

Iran's new conservative President Ebrahim Raisi has taken a 

much harder line with Washington's readmittance to the 

JCPOA, than his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani.

 

Nandy also backed the Conservative government's decision 

to boycott this September's 20th anniversary reconvening 

of the World Conference Against Racism held in the South 

African city of Durban, in 2001, saying: "We shouldn't be 

supporting the promotion of anti-Semitism".

 

The Israeli and the US delegations walked out of the 2001 

conference... in protest...  even after they had forced the 

removal of criticisms of Israel from the final declaration.

 

Solidarity Denied

 

The frontbencher also accused unnamed individuals of 

exploiting the Palestinian struggle for statehood, to 

"spout hate and divide people".

 

Britain's Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is 

organising protests against next week's annual 

Defence and Security Equipment International 

(DSEI) arms fair at London's ExCel convention 

centre, under the slogan: "Stop Arming Israel".

 

Young Labour chair, Jess Barnard, tweeted, on Tuesday, 

that party officials had informed her PSC was effectively 

barred from the Labour conference in Brighton, at the 

end of September — along with former leader and 

Islington North MP, Jeremy Corbyn.

 

— Jess Barnard (@JessicaLBarnard) August 31, 2021

 

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer ordered Corbyn's suspension 

from the party and its parliamentary group, last November... 

after he challenged an Equality and Human Rights 

Commission report, alleging Labour was riddled 

with anti-Semitism.

 

Nandy told Wednesday's meeting that Luciana Berger, one 

of six Labour MPs who defected to the now-defunct anti-

Brexit Change UK party, should be readmitted and 

promptly selected as a parliamentary candidate.

 

"I want her in parliament, because she is one of the best 

MPs we have ever had", she said, of the Jewish former 

party member.

 

 

_________________________________




 Poor Ken:  Corbyn-Ally 

Director Loach Expelled

 From Labour Party...
in Starmer's 'Purge'

by James Tweedie

August 14th, 4:39pm (Sputnik)




The 85-year-old director said he had been expelled 

for... failing to "disown" other targets of Sir Keir 

Starmer's "witch hunt" against left-wingers, 

and that the Labour chief would never

 lead a "party of the people".

 

British left-wing film director Ken Loach has been 

expelled from the Labour Party, for backing other

 targets of leader Sir Keir Starmer's "witch hunt".

 

Loach, a prominent supporter of suspended 

former party leader, Jeremy Corbyn,
tweeted the news on Saturday.

 

The "Kes" director hinted that he had joined 

Geronimo the Alpaca on Starmer's hit list, 

for his refusal to "disown" members of 4

left-wing factions banned last month by 

the party leadership — and said former

 director of public prosecutions, Sir 

Keir, was no man of "the people".

 

"Well, I am proud to stand with the good friends and 

comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed 

a witch hunt", Loach charged. "Starmer and his 

clique will never lead a party of the people. 

We are many, they are few. Solidarity".

 

Labour's top administrative body, the National Executive 

Committee (NEC), agreed, in July, to collectively 

proscribe the groups: Socialist Appeal, Labour 

Against the Witch Hunt, the Labour in Exile 

Network, and Resist — potentially leading 

to the expulsion of some 1,000 party 

members. 

 

At the same time, it emerged the party was laying off 

long-serving staff at its HQ, due to a cash shortage 

caused by the mass exodus of members, while 

also hiring scores of short-term employees, 

to help identify new targets for 

disciplinary action.

 

Corbyn's former shadow home secretary, John 

McDonnell — who is closely associated with 

Socialist Appeal — denounced the 

expulsion of "such a fine

 socialist" as a 

"disgrace". 

 

Yet McDonnell also recently welcomed the defection 

to Labour... of former Conservative MP and 

Parliamentary speaker, John Bercow, 

who was chair of the Conservative 

Students when that organisation 

produced "Hang Nelson 

Mandela" t-shirts.

 

Loach also drew support on Twitter from left-wing

 Labour MPs, trade union leaders, and the former 

Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, 

of the Syriza party.

 

Loach gained fame in the 60s for his "kitchen sink" 

social dramas, such as "Cathy Come Home",
"Poor Cow", and "Kes".

 

But his 1995 film "Land and Freedom"... set during the 

Spanish Civil War, was controversial for its sectarian 

claims of atrocities by Soviet-backed Republican 

forces resisting the fascist takeover, led by 

General Francisco Franco - yet glorifying

 the six-day May 1937 Trotskyist POUM 

insurrection in Barcelona, against
the Socialist-led government
of the republic.

 

Loach's last two films "I, Daniel Blake" and "Sorry We 

Missed You" deal with the lives of a benefit claimant 

and package delivery drivers.

 

The latest polls show Starmer's Labour still trailing 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Tories... by around

 ten percentage points.. despite a string of recent 

government rows and scandals.

 

 

____________________________________

 

 

UK Labour Party losing 

250 members a day -

since Sir Keir Starmer

 became leader - media

July 25th, 3:07pm (RT)

 

The UK Labour Party has lost 120,000 members – or a

 rate of 250 members per day – since Keir Starmer 

was elected leader last year, sending the party 

into a financial crisis, according to a 

new report.

 

The Labour Party now has just 430,000 members – a huge 

drop from the 550,000 who were in the party under the
former leader Jeremy Corbyn – after numbers started
to drop when Starmer was elected leader in April
2020, the Times has learned.

 

According to the article, Labour has lost up

 to £500,000 per month, from the exodus.




Because of the drop in members, plus other costs 

such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and the millions
of pounds that Labour has spent in legal costs 

during its campaign against anti-Semitism, 

Labour Party General Secretary, David 

Evans, reportedly announced to party 

staffers this week ---- there was only

 one month’s worth of employee pay 

left in Labour’s reserves, and that 

jobs would have to be cut.

 

It is estimated that the amount left in Labour’s
reserves is just £1.5 million, leaving the party
desperate for donors.

 

Despite Labour’s loss of members and its subsequent 

financial crisis, the Times noted that the party has 

been “attracting wealthy backers” under Starmer, 

including Sir Trevor Chinn, the president of the 

Movement for Reform Judaism and a financial 

supporter of the Labour Friends of Israel.

 

Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party has been defined 

by its more centrist turn following the socialist leadership 

of Corbyn, and an attempt to crackdown on perceived 

cases of anti-Semitism in the party.

 

In October 2020 – just months after he stood down as leader

 of the party following its 2019 election defeat – Corbyn was

 suspended from Labour. Though Corbyn was reinstated to 

the party the following month after protests by members, 

left-wing politicians, and the former US presidential 

candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, Starmer did not
return the Labour whip to him.




 

____________________________________






Inept Labour’s week from hell 

shows why England now feels

 like a one-party state

July 23rd, 8:46am (RT)

 

Paul A. Nuttall is a historian, author and a former politician.

 He was a Member of the European Parliament between 

2009 and 2019 and was a prominent campaigner 

for Brexit.

 

Internal purges, cash woes, redundancies, and now self-isolation 

for its leader. It’s been a disastrous week for the Labour Party, 

illustrating exactly why the Tories are impregnable, no matter 

how ‘useless’ Boris Johnson is.

 

If you think Boris Johnson has had a torrid few days, spare a 

thought for poor Sir Keir Starmer. His week started when the 

Labour Party’s National Executive Committee  governing 

body voted to ban a number of hard-Left organisations. 

 

The controversial decision had the backing of Starmer. The 

groups banned were Resist, Labour Against the Witchhunt, 

the Labour In Exile Network, and Socialist Appeal, which 

describes itself as a Marxist voice of Labour and youth. 

It is estimated that around 1,000 members will be 

removed from the party, as a result of 

the decision.

 

The move was criticised by John McDonnell, the former 

Shadow Chancellor, who said, “standard Blairite fare
to try show how strong a leader you are... by taking
on your own party, but bizarre to do it by expelling 

people, most of whom have left already.”

 

McDonnell is of course right, as Labour’s membership has

 plummeted under Starmer’s leadership, losing over 50,000

 last year alone. Moreover, those who remain members are

 not entirely sold on Starmer. A recent poll found that 67% 

have a favourable opinion of their leader, but 31% have 

an unfavourable opinion. This is far from a unified 

party, never mind an effective opposition.    

 

The decision to provoke a fight with the hard Left has been 

criticised by the powerful Momentum organisation, which 

played an integral role, during the leadership of Jeremy 

Corbyn. Momentum complained that “at a time when 

the Tory government is allowing the pandemic to rip 

through the country, the Labour leadership has 

once again turned inwards.”

 

It is evident that this battle for the heart and soul of the party

 is far from over, especially as Momentum has influence 

over a number of large local Labour associations.

 

Then came the news that the party is losing cash like water 

passing through a sieve. David Evans, Labour’s General 

Secretary, claims that the party’s finances have suffered 

because of the fall in membership and the use of funds 

to deal with anti-Semitism cases. He allegedly told
staff that the financial reserves are so low, that
they only cover one payroll. As a result, the
party is being forced to lay off a
quarter of its workers.

 

Labour’s idea, of reducing its staff through ‘voluntary 

redundancies’ has also gone down like a lead balloon

 with the trade unions, who are the party’s largest 

donors. A co-authored letter from the Unite and 

GMB trade unions, concluded with a scathing 

attack on party management. It stated that 

''we note that the lack of clarity, trust, and 

openness with staff is breeding a climate 

of anxiety and fear amongst staff --- 

impacting on their mental health.''


'' It is simply not the way we would expect
an organisation like the Labour Party,
to undertake work of this nature.''

It is never a good idea to
upset your paymasters. 

 

To top off this disastrous week for Starmer, he now has to

 self-isolate for a fourth time, as one of his children tested 

positive for Covid. Former Labour PM Harold Wilson once

 said that “a week is a long time in politics” but, for poor 

Sir Keir, it must have felt like an age, & Saturday surely

 cannot come quickly enough. Indeed, the recent 

surprise victory in Batley and Spen... must 

already seem like a lifetime ago.

 

Now, before we go any further, I want to make it clear that I 

am no fan of the Labour Party. I have had too many run-ins 

with it over the years, particularly over Brexit. I do believe, 

however, that the country requires a strong opposition. In

 its absence, what we have in England is virtually a one-

party state -- where the Tories are allowed to emerge 

from crises, relatively unscathed. Take, for example, 

the Matt Hancock affair and the Dominic Cummings

 revelations. In years gone by, the Labour Party 

would have benefited from these squalid

 incidents, yet, in its current state, it is 

unable to make any headway.  

 

Much of the mess Labour finds itself in must be laid at 

Starmer’s door. In backing the NEC in its confrontation

 with the hard Left, Starmer obviously wants to imitate

 former leaders Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair, who both

 benefited from taking on the militants. Indeed, in the 

long term, the actions of the NEC are probably in the

 interest of the party; but they are not in the interest 

of the country, in the short term.

 

What the UK needs right now is an effective opposition 

and Labour cannot be that if they are fighting each 

other. You would - usually - have more chance of 

seeing a flying pig, than have me agreeing with 

Diane Abbott, but I have to admit that she was 

right, when she said that Labour must start 

“fighting the Tories” and “not each other.” 

 

They owe it to the country, 

and to voters of all stripes.  

 

 

_________________________________






BREAKING: Starmer's 


''approval'' rating 


has fallen to 


minus 48.


 


YouGov poll on whether Starmer


 is doing well or badly:


 


Well: 17% (-9)


Badly: 65% (+15)


[Net rating: -48]


 


Worst-ever rating 


for Starmer 


*by far*.


 


Corbyn's lowst point ever, was minus 40
...and most Labour MPs rushed to stab
him in the back.




__________________






Labour’s humiliating defeat


 signals its death & Keir 


Starmer, not Jeremy
Corbyn, is the man
with its blood on
his hands


by Neil Clark


May 7th (RT)



Neil Clarkis a journalist, writer, broadcaster and
blogger. His award winning blog can be found at 


www.neilclark66.blogspot.com. He tweets on
politics and world affairs @NeilClark66






The blame for the crushing loss in Thursday’s by-election,


 in a northern ‘Red Wall’ seat Labour has held since 1974, 


lies with Blairite ‘centrists’, who set out to destroy
Corbyn – and have ended up destroying the
party itself.


 


Hartlepool is a coastal town in N. Eastern England with 


a fascinating history. Out on its headland, the Heugh 


Battery Museum bills itself as the only World War I 


battlefield in Great Britain. A nearby plaque marks


 the spot... where the first shell from a leading 


German battle cruiser struck at 8:10am on 


December 16, 1914, and also records the 


place where, during the bombardment, 


the first soldier was killed on British 


soil by enemy action in the war.


 


Close by, looking out over the North Sea, there’s a 


Russian cannon, which was captured by British


 forces at the Battle of Sevastopol during the 


Crimean War in the 1850s, and sent up to


 Hartlepool by ship from London.


 


Perhaps - after this Thursday - there needs to be 


another historical plaque installed in Hartlepool. 


One commemorating the death of the UK 


Labour Party. 


 


Labour’s defeat in Hartlepool wasn’t a ‘bad’ result, 


it was utterly catastrophic. The party attained
just 28.7% of the vote, a full 23 points behind
the Tories, doing far worse, than even the
worst opinion poll had suggested.


 


Even before polling day, Labour ‘centrists’ were 


getting their excuses in. Predictably, they’re


 blaming Jeremy Corbyn, the man who 


stopped being the party’s leader 


more than a year ago.


 


It’ll take much longer to rid the party of his ‘toxic’ legacy,


 the dominant neocon/Blairite narrative goes. The 


people who supported a ‘chicken coup’ against 


Corbyn -- after just nine months -- now tell us 


Starmer, who’s been leader for 13 months, 


and up against the worst UK government 


of all time, needs more time. Or... to
quote a former MP, if Labour loses


 Hartlepool, it’ll be a case of


 ‘Long Corbyn’.


 


What tommyrot.


 


Just four years ago - in June 2017 - Labour, under Corbyn, 


not only held Hartlepool, but did so with its highest share 


of the vote (52.5%) since 2001. But for the Corbyn-hating 


‘moderates’, who, funnily enough, all seem to be strong 


supporters of the far-from-moderate Iraq War, it’s as if


 the 2017 general election never happened. In fact, the


 way that election – which Corbyn came very close to 


winning – has been airbrushed out of history reminds


 one of the late Harold Pinter’s Nobel Prize lecture in 


2005, when he condemned US foreign policy crimes


...before saying: “It never happened. Nothing ever 


happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t 


happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest.”


 


The 2017 election is never referred to, because it goes 


against the dominant narrative. Labour was supposed 


to have been thrashed out of sight four years ago, but 


to the horror of the neocon Establishment it wasn’t. In 


fact, under the ‘unelectable’ Corbyn, Labour achieved 


their biggest increase in the popular vote since 1945 


(a whopping 9.6% up from 2015), and came to within


 a whisker of a shock victory. 


 


Enthused by his message of positive change, and by 


popular policies such as bringing the railways back


 into public ownership, millions of Labour voters, 


who had stayed at home in previous elections, 


came out to put their cross in the Labour box. 



Of course, the Establishment set out with


 renewed vigour --- to make sure it would 


never happen again. Part of the reason


 Labour did so well in 2017... and held
on to its Northern strongholds, was 


because it had pledged to respect
the 2016 EU referendum result.


 


So an operation was mounted, with the Trilateral 


Commission member, Sir Keir Starmer, playing


 a key role, as Shadow Brexit Secretary, to get 


Labour to change its policy --- and adopt an 


electorally suicidal stance of supporting 


a second referendum. It was electorally 


suicidal, because 78% of Labour’s 45 


target seats in England and Wales 


voted Leave in 2016, many of 


them quite strongly. 


 


Not only that, but there was a ratcheting up of the 


political weaponisation of anti-Semitism, which 


again, was about ruining Corbyn’s chances.


 


To his own --- and his party’s --- detriment, Corbyn 


didn’t fight back against the wreckers. He should 


have done more to resist the change in policy on


 Europe and should have sacked Starmer (in fact,


 he should never have appointed him in the first 


place). He should have pushed back harder,


 much harder, against those smearing him. 



With the mass membership on his side, he 


should have gone on the front foot against


 his Blairite enemies. But Corbyn did none


 of those things.


 


Instead, having come so close to victory in 2017, he


 led Labour to a heavy defeat in 2019 with most of 


the damage being done in pro-Brexit Northern 


‘Red Wall’ seats. But even in 2019, Corbyn 


managed to hold on to Hartlepool... The 


party’s share of the vote nationally, was 


still higher than in 2010 and in 2015.. It
was a bad result, but not the absolute 


disaster it was portrayed as.


 


Things have got a whole lot worse, since then. Starmer, 


a man described as so wooden, birds try to nest in him, 


inspires no one. His disapproval rating in April, rose to


 50% in April, and was 44% among Labour voters. The


 witch hunt against Corbyn, and his supporters, 


cheered on by vindictive, elitist, anti-populist 


Blairites who loathed the way party member
-ship had soared under Corbyn, has left 


Labour short of activists to do the
hard work of election
campaigning. 


 


The ‘Bitterites’ set out to politically assassinate Corbyn, 


believing that once he had gone and all his supporters 


had been purged, ‘normal service’ would be resumed;
but their internal sabotage from 2015-19, ended up
killing the party, too.


 


Labour is in a right mess, and although the Tories 


don’t deserve to win for what they’ve done to the


 country these past 13 months, ‘HM Opposition’ 


-- whose only ‘opposition’ to the government 


this past year has been to berate Johnson 


and co. for not locking us plebs down 


earlier and harder – most certainly 


don’t deserve to win either. 


 


In fact, the best thing that could happen is that Labour 


- as it’s currently constituted - is formally put out of its


 misery. Destroyed - not by Corbyn - but by those who 


simply couldn’t stomach the prospect of an anti-war 


UK prime minister who would threaten the hawkish 


foreign policy consensus.


 


Like this story? Share it with a friend!





_____________________________





UK Trade Union Leader Warns -

Keir Starmer Is Turning Labour

Into 'Party of Establishment'

by Jason Dunn

21.03.2021, 8:21pm GMT 

 

 

Sir Keir Starmer has become the subject of criticism 

by the left-wing of Labour -- as he is accused of 

leading the party in a right-wing trajectory and

 away from the socialist policies of his 

predecessor.

 

A leading British trade unionist has accused Sir 

Keir Starmer of trying to turn Labour into an 

"establishment" party --- and risking his 

chances at the next general election.

 

Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, said

that the opposition leader could be "ditched into 

the dustbin of history" unless he changes his 

current approach and reaffirms Labour's 

dedication to radical politics. 

 

Speaking to LBC radio on Sunday, Mr McCluskey, an ally

of the former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and large donor 

to the party, criticised Sir Keir for missing "the 

opportunities” of the ongoing coronavirus 

pandemic.

 

“The truth of the matter is, at the moment, the direction

we are travelling - that he seems to be taking us down -

 is to turn Labour into a party of the establishment", 

he said.

 

McCluskey warned that if that were to happen "he will not 

become prime minister in 2024, he will be ditched into the

 dustbin of history".

 

“I am urging Keir to look at his pledges, to reject the siren 

voices of the ghouls of New Labour and to stick to the

radical policies that will win back the Red Wall seats", 

the Unite leader said.

 

Mr McCluskey highlighted Sir Keir's treatment of the left 

such as the removal of the whip from Mr Corbyn last 

year, as causing a rift between the leadership and 

his largest donor.

 

He stressed that the leader had stood in his election 

campaign on a left-wing programme, similar to 

Labour's 2017 and 2019 manifesto, but claims 

he has now dropped those promises, during 

his leadership tenure.

 

These included commitments to free movement,

as well as opposing increasing corporation tax.

 

“At the moment nobody quite knows what Keir stands 

for, nobody quite knows what Labour stands for", 

Mr McCluskey told the outlet.

 

McCluskey predicted that Starmer could be the next 

prime minister in 2024, "not an overall majority, but 

a hung parliament - if he wins back the red seats 

by arguing on the radical platform that he was 

elected on".

 

“He was elected to make the moral case for socialism, 

he was elected on ten pledges that people said were 

Corbynist", he added.

 

His comments follow an acknowledgement by Sir 

Keir that the Conservatives have seen a "vaccine 

bounce" in opinion polling, as an explanation for

why Labour is losing ground to the Tories, in 

recent voter intention surveys.

 

Sir Keir has received criticism by some Labour members

--- for being too ready to abstain or support government 

motions, police spies, and Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, 

and for not pushing for a convincing alternative to the 

Conservatives handling of the pandemic.

 

Others have pointed to Sir Keir's purging of left-wing 

members from the party such as the suspension of 

Jeremy Corbyn and the removal of Rebecca Long-

Bailey from the shadow cabinet.

 

The Labour frontbench claims that these moves were 

part of the party's commitment to deal with incidents 

of antisemitism, which plagued his predecessor.

 

Electoral Chances?

 

While Starmer's 10 election pledges were largely 

consistent with the values of the Corbyn leader-

ship, he has been criticised for moving the

 party towards the centre.

 

While some of his supporters have hailed his ascension 

to the top job as an improvement in terms of voter 

approval ratings, Sir Keir has seen his support 

among the public decline, as his positioning is

seen to drift away from Labour's radical 

stances in recent years.

 

Corbyn was historically unpopular as a party leader, 

seeing net satisfaction ratings of as low as -60 and

ultimately resigned after losing the 2019 election. 

 

However, the 2017 general election saw the Labour Party 

receive its biggest increase in the vote since 1945, and 

secure a hung parliament.

 

It was also the only time any Labour Party platform - 

which included the renationalisation of rail and an 

end to austerity - had resulted in an increase in 

both the overall vote and the number of  seats

in parliament, since Tony Blair's landslide

victory in 1997. 

 

 

_________________________________






Deputy Leader Says Labour Could 

Suspend ‘Thousands’ of Members 

over  'Antisemitism'

December 1st,  2020  (FNA)

 

 The Labour Party will suspend “thousands and thousands” of 

members unless they “get real” about antisemitism, Angela 

Rayner warned, as an internal row rages over the 

removal of the whip from Jeremy Corbyn.

 

Following Keir Starmer’s decision not to allow Corbyn to sit as a 

Labour MP over his reaction to the Equality and Human Rights

 Commission (EHRC) report, dozens of constituency parties 

are reported to have passed motions in support of the 

former leader – despite the party’s General Secretary 

David Evans banning them from doing so.

 


_________________________________________


 





UK Labour candidate


 trained with Israeli 


army: Report


March 13th (PressTV)


 


A British Labour Party candidate for the party’s election


this year, has reportedly been trained with the Israeli 


military forces.


 


Izzy Lenga, an officer in the Jewish Labour Movement, 


is running for the party’s new National Women’s 


Committee, as a right-wing candidate.


 


The movement worked for years, to oust 


the party’s former leader Jeremy Corbyn.


 


Corbyn, well known for his support of the Palestinian 


cause, has repeatedly been described by pro-Israeli 


lobbies in Britain, as a threat to the life of Jews in


 the country.


 


The US-based Electronic Intifada — an online publication 


covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — released a 


photo of her wearing an Israeli army uniform, 


wrapped in an Israeli flag and carrying an 


assault rifle.


 


Lenga once “proudly” displayed the photo 


on social media networks, said the report.


 


Citing Israeli experts Dena Shunra and Daniel Shunra, 


the website said that the uniform and epaulets seen 


in the photo suggest that Lenga took part in Marva, 


a paramilitary course overseen by the Israeli army.


 


The Marva program provides weapons and training, 


Zionist political indoctrination, and visits to 


military bases.


 


It also recruits Jewish people aged 18-25, from around 


the world, offering them incentives to become Israeli 


settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.


 


Many participants in the course, have stayed in 
Israel, claiming citizenship & joining the military.


 


In 2015, Lenga became an officer with the campus society 


in Birmingham, which is affiliated to the Union of Jewish 


Students (UJS).


 


At the same time, she was also elected to


 the leadership committee of the UJS.


 




________________________________


 


Labour Leader Keir
Starmer 'Must Give 
Evidence' to Inquiry, 


Say Activists 'Fitted 
Up by Spycops'


by Mohamed Elmaazi


15:22 GMT 05.02.2021 (Sputnik)


 


 


A collection of activists who were found to have been 


wrongfully prosecuted and convicted in 2009, are 


demanding that the former chief prosecutor 


answer questions before the ongoing 


Undercover Policing Inquiry.


 


Environmental activists who were wrongfully convicted 


have called upon UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer 


to answer questions at the Undercover Policing Inquiry


 (UCPI), for his role in an alleged coverup of the use of 


undercover police when he was Director of Public 


Prosecutions. The activists in question were 


arrested, whilst planning a protest against 


Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station, 


in Nottinghamshire, England, in April 2009.


 


The open letter, which has received scant media coverage 


since its publication on 4 February 2021, alleges that 


Starmer, "may have been involved in a cover-up of 


police and prosecutors orchestrating wrongful 


convictions".


 


"A decade ago, this month, the world learnt that Mark Kennedy 


was a Metropolitan Police officer spying on environmentalists.


 This information led to the collapse of a trial where six 


environmental campaigners were accused of 


conspiring to occupy a coal-fired power 


station", the letter published via the 


Campaign Opposing Police 


Surveillance (COPS) 


website explains.


 


In a separate trial, "the convictions of 20 campaigners for 


conspiring to occupy the same coal-fired power station 


were quashed by the Court of Appeal, because the 


prosecution failed to disclose information about 


Mark Kennedy’s involvement that would have 


helped their defence", COPS add.


 


Starmer, as chief prosecutor at the time of the trial, 


commissioned a report headed by former Court of 


Appeal judge Sir Christopher Rose Report into the 


withholding information about the role of under-


cover police in the two cases. The Rose Report 


ultimately determined that the, "failings were 


individual, and not systemic". However, the 


findings of the Rose Report appeared to be 


contradicted by further evidence of activist 


groups being infiltrated by police with the 


latter's role not being disclosed to


 the defendants.


 


"Why did Keir Starmer ask for three reviews into CPS 


failings relating to undercover policing that were kept 


from public view, before commissioning the Rose 


report?", the signatories to the letter asks.


 


"What action was taken by Keir Starmer after the Rose report 


was shown to be wrong, to uncover other miscarriages of


 justice?", the letter adds.


 


Crucially, the letter points out that a report commissioned by 


then-Home Secretary Theresa May into possible miscarriages


 of justice identified "83 activists who were convicted in trials


 involving an undercover officer, over three decades", and 


ask how it is, that the CPS inquiry, "has, to date, 


discovered nobody whom the media and 


campaigners hadn't already identified".


 


Labour's current leader has, as of yet, not responded to the 


letter signed by 18 men and women who were, "arrested 


and charged with conspiracy, or arrested, charged and 


wrongfully convicted of conspiracy", with the former 


undercover officer, Mark Kennedy.


 


The UCPI was initiated by Theresa May when it was discovered 


that the police had been secretly recording the lawyer-client 


conversations of the family of Stephen Laurence, who was 


murdered in a racist attack, in 1993. Stephen Lawrence's 


family continued to push for their son's killers to face 


justice after a botched police investigation resulted 


in a separate inquiry to determine that the 


Metropolitan Police were "institutionally 


racist". After the UCPI was set-up, the 


Metropolitan Police admitted to 


infiltrating and surveilling over 


1,000 political, environmental 


and social justice groups, 


since 1968.


 

_____________________________________________________





Corbyn Suspended for
Telling the Truth – 
A New Socialist Party
Is Required

by Tommy Sheridan 

31/10/2020 (Sputnik)

 

The other day a thoroughly decent and honest man 

suffered a grave injustice. A man who has a peer-

less record in opposing racism and anti-Semitism 

was suspended by the political party he has been 

a member of for over fifty years, has represented 

it in the British Parliament since 1983 and was 

its leader from 2015-20.

 

Irony died in Britain yesterday when Jeremy Corbyn was 

suspended by the Labour Party with the consent and 

probable collusion of the man who succeeded him 

as leader, Sir Keir Starmer.

 

We now have a Tory leader in 10 Downing Street who is 

famed for his racist views, including referring to black 

Africans as “piccaninnies” with “watermelon smiles”.

 

A racist Prime Minister nostalgic for the days of slavery 

and brutal exploitation and ownership of black people 

was elected by the people of England in preference 

to a man whose whole life has been dedicated to 

fighting racism and injustice.

 

Corbyn Was Betrayed by His Own
Party Bureaucracy in 2017

 

Jeremy Corbyn would have won the 2017 General Election 

if his campaign had not been sabotaged from within by 

Labour opponents. They hated him more than the 

Tories and refused to accept the democratic will 

of the Labour Party masses who elected Corbyn 

leader, not once but twice with a bigger majority 

the second time round in 2016. 

 

He led a remarkable 2017 election campaign which inspired 

millions and confounded all the opinion polls and political 

pundits as he came within a whisker of winning. He 

smashed the Tory majority and rocked the British 

Establishment. A genuine socialist was almost 

elected to lead the UK. Millionaires and 

billionaires were petrified that they 

would be forced to pay their taxes 

and public services would no 

longer be up for sale. 

 

Corbyn would have won if staff at the heart of the 

Labour Party had not actively undermined him.

 

Paid Labour Party staff expressing disgust for the 

elected leader of their party and hoping for a bad 

election result and undermining the effectiveness 

of the campaign wherever possible is what the 

right wing did with gusto. And - after the close 

call of the 2017 general election - the powerful 

and rich who make up the British Establishment 

and mainstream media declared war on Corbyn 

from every angle, but specifically colluded to 

weaponise the scourge of anti-Semitism and 

throw every slur and empty accusation 

against Corbyn that was possible 

to muster.

 

After 2017 Close-Call, Anti-Semitism 

Was Weaponised Against Corbyn

 

An incredible narrative was created whereby a man that 

had done more in his life to confront and combat racism 

and anti-Semitism than anyone in British politics, was 

cast as an anti-Semite. It was bizarre, ridiculous, and 

obscenely unfair and inaccurate but it was effective 

in creating a wholly false perception. An inordinate 

number of Labour anti-Semitism stories, headlines 

and even documentaries were produced and by 

2018 polls of Jewish voters indicated an 

incredulous number believed the Labour 

Party was anti-Semitic while the problem 

in the Tories and Lib-Dems was perceived 

to be minor.

 

Labour Became Huge Under Corbyn – 

Over 500,000 Members

 

Jeremy Corbyn attracted hundreds of thousands of new 

members to the Labour Party and transformed it into the 

biggest membership party in Europe with well over 

500,000 signed up to his brand of socialism. The 

number of party members ever subjected to 

accusations of anti-Semitic behaviour never 

surpassed more than 300, so the anti-Semitic 

‘problem’ in Labour amounted to 0.1% of its 

membership at most but the coordinated 

media led campaign aided and abetted 

by Labour right wing MPs, created a 

deeply warped and distorted picture 

that almost 62% of party members 

were anti-Semitic.

 

This was the result of a well-coordinated media 

campaign led by the BBC to traduce the 

character of Corbyn and the Labour 

Party under him.

 

Feeding from the false narrative and whipped up 

hysteria created by the media the Equality and 

Human Rights Commission (ECHR) decided to 

launch a formal investigation into claims of 

anti-Semitism within Labour to establish if 

they had breached the Equality Act 2010 

and were guilty of acting unlawfully in 

relation to anti-Semitic actions. This 

decision was taken in May 2019 amid 

the Brexit crisis and talk of an early 

general election. The fact the ECHR 

acted on the basis of complaints 

from vehemently anti-Corbyn 

organisations indicates just 

how loaded the dice was 

from the outset.

 

Anti-Semitism is Abhorrent --- but 

Jeremy Corbyn is Not an Anti-Semite

 

All anti-Semitic behaviour and opinions should be 

condemned and confronted unreservedly. Of that 

there should be no doubt or debate. But the 

accusations of anti-Semitism against the 

Labour Party have been overstated and 

used politically to undermine Labour 

and Corbyn. Anti-Semitism is a problem 

in society as a whole. An ugly repulsive 

problem. But to suggest Labour has a 

bigger problem than other parties or 

that Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-Semite 

is patent nonsense and lies.

 

Unlike the Corbyn detractors, Labour’s 2020 ‘No 

Place For Antisemitism’ Report provides hard 

facts refuting media and ECHR allegations 

that Labour under Corbyn did not address 

anti-Semitism complaints.

 

The Labour Party expelled 45 members in relation to 

antisemitism in 2019, compared to 10 in 2018 and 

1 in 2017.

 

After rule changes passed at Conference in September 

2019 gave NEC panels the power to expel, twice the 

number of people were expelled in two months than 

had been expelled during the whole of 2018.

 

NEC Disciplinary Panels heard 274 cases relating to 

antisemitism in 2019, a tenfold increase on the 28 

cases heard in 2017.

 

In 2019, 149 members were removed from the party as 

a result of disciplinary processes relating to anti-

semitism, either being expelled or quitting the 

party as proceedings progressed.

 

The Labour Party suspended 296 members in relation to 

antisemitism in 2019, compared to 98 in 2018 – itself a 

big increase on the previous year”.

 

Once you have read the facts contained in this Report and 

considered that the lengthy ECHR Report which took 

almost 18 months to compile concludes that Labour 

is guilty of “unlawful acts of indirect discrimination 

and harassment for which the Labour Party is 

responsible” based on the conduct of TWO 

Labour Party members, Ken Livingston and 

a Councillor called Pam Bromley, you can 

reasonably conclude that when Corbyn 

said the allegations of anti-Semitism 

against Labour were “overstated” 

he was stating a fact.

 

Corbyn was a clear and present danger to the rich and 

powerful British Establishment and his sympathy with

 the Palestinian people and willingness to call out 

Israel’s human rights abuses made him dangerous 

on an international plain also. America and Israel 

could not tolerate a pro-Palestinian British Prime 

Minister. The anti-Semitism campaign was a 

conscious and dishonest scheme to under-

mine his electoral credibility and the BBC 

played a blinder in promoting the lie at 

every available opportunity.

 

A New Trade Union Supported 

Socialist Party is Now Urgent

 

The suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from Labour is an 

attack on him and every single socialist still in that 

party. Jeremy is now suffering the consequences 

of being popular on the one hand but being far 

too pliable on the other. The day Jeremy stood 

back & allowed socialists like Chris Williamson 

to be suspended was the day he succumbed to 

the right-wing bullies within the Labour Party 

hierarchy. Chris was a loyal lieutenant of 

Corbyn. A very capable and popular 

crusader for socialism. 

 

When the right wing went after him with the anti-Semitism slur 

Jeremy should have resisted and stood with Chris. Instead he 

sought to avoid an internal battle and that was his ultimate 

undoing. Jeremy had the backing of the members but not 

the comfortable and right-wing bureaucracy who used 

their influence to stifle Corbyn and undermine his 

2017 election campaign.

 

The new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is determined to turn 

the party back into a Tory second eleven like in the red Tory 

Tony Blair days.

 

The challenge to other socialist Labour MPs and the trade union 

leaders who support socialist policies which will actually 

improve the lives of their members is clear. If you can’t 

fight for the former leader of your party who raised the 

hopes of millions & came so close in 2017 to winning, 

then you are not worthy of the description of socialist. 

The time has come for a party of workers that promotes 

socialism with guile, enthusiasm, and pride. Instead of 

funding Starmer’s Tory Party Mark II, the trade union 

movement should fund a real socialist party --- 

committed to changing the lives of millions 

for the better.

 

The suspension of Corbyn must be the crossing of the Rubicon 

for the socialist and trade union movement. Labour is already 

irrelevant in Scotland. It will become irrelevant in England 

as well soon. The time for a new force backed with trade 

union organisation and resources, is now.

 

 






 

TORIES ARE STRIPPING & PRIVATIZING
the NHS and Taking Away OUR RIGHTS:.
The article below appeared in 2017 - 
do you think they've stopped since?

Since this year - 2022 - OAPs and you
now have to have ear-syringing done
''privately.''





Lawyers Warn:

‘No Jab, No Job’ 
Policies in UK
 Set to Spark Deluge of
Employment Tribunals

August 2nd, 1:33pm (FNA)

 

 Lawyers expect a wave of legal action against UK 

companies over attempts to make sure staff are 

double-vaccinated against COVID, amid 

growing fears of draconian “no jab,
no job” policies in the workplace.

 

Trade unions have criticised the government for 

encouraging the idea of mandatory vaccination 

for office staff: after transport secretary Grant

 Shapps, said it was a “good idea”... for 

companies to insist staff are double-

jabbed, The Independent reported.

 

Tech giant Google, has said mandatory jabs for US employees 

will later be rolled out to staff in 40 countries where it operates, 

and Mr Shapps said he expected some British firms will soon 

“require” full vaccination.

 

Employment lawyers told The Independent that British companies 

had been in touch to explore their options on putting COVID 

vaccination requirements in place.

 

“We’re definitely going to see a lot of employment tribunals on this,” 

said Elissa Thursfield, head of employment lawyer and a director 

at Gamlins Law – predicting a wave of vaccine-related 

discrimination claims in the months ahead.

 

Lawyers and union chiefs warned that a blanket approach to 

making jabs mandatory could breach the Equality Act by 

discriminating against some groups, including those 

with disabilities or certain religious beliefs.

 

“Having a blanket policy is almost always dangerous – it’s 

fraught with legal difficulties,” said Thursfield, adding, 

“For existing staff, if you don’t have a clause in your 

contract that says you can receive mandatory 

instructions on health, which is rare, that’s 

potentially a breach of contract... as
well as the discrimination claims.”

 

She added, “If the government pushes any further on this,

 in terms of encouraging employers, they are going to 

start getting into hot water.”

 

Charlie Thompson, an employment partner at law firm 

Stewarts, also predicted legal action against 

companies that don’t consider their 

vaccine policy carefully enough.

 

“If you’re not able to go back to your existing job, or
you’re denied a job, and the employer’s justification
[for vaccination] doesn’t stack up, then I can see

 legal claims,” he said.

 

Responding to Shapps’ encouraging remarks about companies 

asking staff to get the jab, Labour leader Keir Starmer said he

 did not think “no jab no job” policies were wise.

 

“I don’t agree with that,” said Starmer.

 

“For day-to-day routines, access to the office, access to health 

services or dentistry or even food – I don’t agree with vaccine 

passports for day-to-day access,” said the Labour leader.

 

Downing Street has made clear the government has no plans to

bring legislation to make full-vaccination mandatory for entry

into offices.

 

Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea said the government 

should not be encouraging any form of “coercion” when it comes

 to employees getting the vaccine before returning to work.

 

“Only with widespread take-up can the virus be defeated,” she 

said, adding, “Achieving this requires persuasion and 

encouragement – not compulsion and coercion. 

Forcing people can only lead to needless 

confrontation at work and legal cases

 that could drag on for years.”

 

Unite’s National Health and Safety Adviser Rob Miguel said COVID

 vaccine compulsion would be a “bad” way for companies to 

encourage a return to work, and is “embroiled with issues 

such as equalities, human rights, privacy and 

ethical breaches”.

 

Goldman Sachs raised alarm bells last month when it sent a memo 

to UK staff saying the company “strongly encouraged” them to 

report their COVID vaccination status before returning to the 

office – before clarifying vaccination was not compulsory.

 

In the US, companies are beginning to be more severe in their 

demands. Google and Facebook, along with Delta and United 

airlines, have said full vaccination will be mandatory for staff.

 

The Independent understands leading UK companies are 

examining how they can make sure staff are double-

jabbed, despite potential legal difficulties.

 

Some keen on getting offices fully-staffed say employees have 

told them they are uncomfortable about returning to the office 

until all their colleagues are vaccinated.

 

Others have said they would not try to enforce 

any rules about the COVID vaccine.

 

Imran Hussain, director at Harmony Financial Services, said 

it would be “ridiculous” to try to draw up a policy about 

vaccination.

 

“The whole idea is highly undemocratic and draconian,” he said, 

adding, “People should be allowed to make their own decisions 

and if they wish to take the jab, that’s great.”

 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), warned 

against blanket mandatory policies on vaccination.

 

A spokesperson for the CBI said, “The bar for compulsory 

vaccination is high, and there will be few industries
where this approach would be appropriate."

 

“However, in some sectors it could prove necessary. 

Wherever possible, businesses will be approaching 

questions like this trying to bring their staff with 

them,” the spokesperson added.

 

 

_____________________________

 



Planning ahead? Firms land 

Covid passport contracts

 that could last until 2023 

...even as UK govt hints
plan could be dropped

July 30th, 3:06pm (RT)




The British government has awarded potentially years-long 

contracts to help develop a domestic vaccine passport, as 

Downing Street simultaneously hints that the whole idea 

could be abandoned... if enough people get the jab.

 

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published

 information earlier this week on two new contracts with 

private tech firms hired to work on the country’s 

“Covid-19 certification programme.”

 

US-based Entrust will receive close to £840,000 ($1.2 million) 

for the development of the NHS health pass. The deal will 

last until at least July next year but pricing for a two-year 

contract is already detailed in official documents, 

suggesting that the UK government may be 

eyeing a long-term arrangement.

 

While the contract was made available to the public online, 

information about specific services that Entrust will be 

providing has been completely redacted, with several 

pages of the document blacked out. 

 

The US tech company was awarded £250,000 earlier this 

year as part of its ongoing work on the health pass 

program. The contract raised eyebrows, after it 

was revealed that Entrust had openly boasted: 

about how Covid-19 vaccine passports could 

be retooled to create national IDs as part of 

the “infrastructure of the new normal.”

 

The DHSC also signed a 2nd vaccine passport contract 

this week, worth up to £873,000, with Cambridge, 

Massachusetts IT firm, Akamai Technologies.

 Like the agreement with Entrust, the one-

year deal is designed... so that it can be 

seamlessly extended for an additional 

12 months. The US firm pocketed 

£50,000 in May, as part of its

 involvement in the creation

 of the digital vaccine ID.

 

Akamai, which specializes in cybersecurity
technologies, purchased online identity
management company, Janrain,
in 2019. 

 

In total, the government has now spent nearly
£23.6 million ($32.9 million) on its Covid
certification programme,

 iNews reported.

 

The new contracts coincide with the introduction of new 

features on the NHS app', that will allow it to serve as a 

digital vaccine certificate. 

 

In a controversial reversal of its position on domestic 

health IDs, the government revealed last week that, 

starting from the end of September, proof of 

vaccination will be required... in order to 

enter nightclubs and attend events

 involving large crowds. 

 

With around 70% of adults in the country already vaccinated, 

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggested on Thursday 

that the threat of the vaccine passport may be enough to 

“cajole” young people into getting the shot. 

 

“Once we’ve done that, the wider questions of vaccine 

certification become much less relevant and salient,”

 Raab said, suggesting that the whole plan could be 

dropped if vaccine uptake increases over the next

 two months. 

 

But the newly inked contracts seem to be sending mixed 

messages about the government’s intentions for the 

controversial health certificate. A spokesperson for

 the health department insisted back in June that

 the NHS app used to certify vaccination status 

would not be used as a national ID system, 

describing the scheme as a “simple and 

secure means” to allow for 

international travel. 

 

 

____________________________________




100,000+ Britons sign petition to
outlaw discrimination against 

unvaccinated as govt moves 

forward with Covid 

vaccine passports

July 20th, 11:32am (RT)

 

More than 100,000 people have called on the British 

government to review its plans to bring in vaccine 

passports and prevent discriminatory policies

 against people who have refused to be part 

of the national inoculation programme.

 

A petition which started in February has gathered pace 

on Tuesday, with thousands adding their names to the 

growing list of people, calling for the government 

to do more to prevent legalised ‘discrimination’ 

against people who aren’t vaccinated against 

Covid-19.  

 

“The Government must specifically outlaw discrimination 

based on vaccine status, this includes access to private 

businesses, jobs and public life. No individual should 

ever feel coerced into having a vaccine,” the 

petition states.

 

Tens of thousands of people signed the petition on Tuesday

 morning, following a day of unrest in the capital, in which, 

hundreds of angry protesters clashed with police, having

 called for the arrest of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

 

Links to the petition have been widely shared across Twitter, 

with English band Right Said Fred receiving more than 

1,200 retweets on their call for people to sign. 

 

Others vented their anger in other ways on Twitter, calling 

once again, for the prime minister to be arrested. Many 

went as far as comparing the Covid-19 restrictions to

 Adolf Hitler’s Germany, with ‘Nazi’ trending on the 

social media platform. 

 

On Monday, people gathered outside the Palace of Westminster

 to protest measures aimed at preventing the continued spread

 of Covid-19 virus. While Monday, termed ‘Freedom Day’, saw 

the last of the major restrictions lifted, the government has 

laid out plans to mandate the use of vaccination 

certificates at crowded venues in England.

 

Despite having one of the world’s highest vaccination rates 

against Covid-19, many young people have elected not to 

get jabbed. Under the government’s current plans, 

unvaccinated individuals will be prohibited from 

entering venues - such as nightclubs - from 

September. Johnson’s government had, 

previously, ruled out the idea of
making the entry to venues be
dependent on vaccination
status.

 

The government’s U-turn came just hours after nightclubs 

were allowed to open for the first time in 16 months.
Amid the condemnation of Johnson’s plans, some
have suggested, that mandatory vaccination
passports will help provide peace of mind
to some Covid-wary clubbers and others 

attending large gatherings.

 

 

______________________________






UK government document 


quietly introduces vaccine


 passports by the back door 


and points to a third lock-


down this winter


July 13th, 2:53pm (RT)


 


By Kit Klarenberg, an investigative journalist exploring
the role of intelligence services in shaping politics & 


perceptions. Follow him on Twitter @KitKlarenberg


 


For all the government’s bluster about ‘irreversibly’ reopening 


Britain after July 19, official documents paint a very different 


picture, suggesting lockdowns could well return and Covid


 passports may become the norm.


 


Sajid Javid’s elevation to UK Health Secretary ushered in a new


 tone on the part of all government ministers in respect of 


coronavirus. In a flash, the ambiguity and equivocation


 that had typified official statements about lockdown 


for so long vanished, and swaggering confidence 


about a full and permanent reopening of the 


country in the very near future.. became de 


rigueur across every Whitehall department.


 


“We must learn to live with Covid,” Javid forcefully asserted on 


June 28, the same day he assumed the post. This bullishness 


hasn’t faltered since, despite a backlash from some sections 


of the scientific community, and a not insignificant amount 


of public support for certain restrictions enduring, perhaps


 permanently. On July 12, he confirmed that the country 


was pushing full steam ahead with its unlocking road


-map, with all businesses free to reopen and all 


limitations on human contact over... in a 


week’s time.


 


“We’ve all been yearning to get there, and we all want this to 


be a one-way journey,” Javid told the House of Commons.


 


However, an official guide to “moving to step four of the roadmap”


 – i.e. a full cessation of pandemic restrictions –quietly published


 the previous Saturday– is far less strident and optimistic.


 


For one, it reveals that, in September, the government will “under


take a review to assess the country’s preparedness for autumn 


and winter, which will consider whether to continue or 


strengthen public and business guidance” in the lead


-up to December, “including on face coverings and 


test, trace and isolate,” and with “remaining 


regulations” also to be assessed.


 


In other words, it’s sensible to expect 


another lockdown before 2021 is over.


 


There have of course been numerous insinuations over the past


 six months that a true return to normality isn’t in the offing 


anytime soon. For example, in explaining the postpone-


ment of “freedom day” in June, Prime Minister Boris


 Johnson suggested the UK could be in for a “rough 


winter for all sorts of reasons,” as there might be 


“some new diseases, some new horror that we 


simply haven’t budgeted or accounted for” on 


the horizon as yet unforeseen.


 


Still, black-and-white confirmation that whatever freedom is 


achieved on July 19th will be short-lived, and subject to 


change further down the road, can only be considered 


a perturbing disappointment. Even more disquieting, 


though, is the section of the document relating to the 


NHS COVID Pass, or “vaccine passport.” It states 


Whitehall will be “encouraging and supporting 


businesses and large events” to use the Pass 


in “high-risk settings” to “help to limit the
risk of infection.”


 


“The government will work with organisations that operate large,


 crowded settings --- where people are likely to be in close 


proximity to others outside their household to encourage 


the use of the NHS Covid Pass,” the passage continues.


 “If sufficient measures are not taken to limit infection, 


the government will consider mandating the NHS 


Covid Pass in certain venues at a later date.”


 


It was only in May that citizens were told in no uncertain terms 


there was “no chance” UK laws would be changed to mandate


 the use of vaccine passports, with plans to that effect having 


been unambiguously scrapped. This new protocol could, 


however, make vaccine passports a fait accompli, 


achieved via the backdoor, with culpability for the 


volte face deposited squarely on the shoulders of 


“businesses and large events” and their patrons


 for not responsibly taking “sufficient measures”


 to “limit infection.”


 


A similar carrot-and-stick approach was evident in an announce-


ment made by French President Emmanuel Macron the same day


 Javid spoke of a “one-way journey.” He outlined how, as of 


August, anyone over the age of 12 entering a café, cinema, 


cultural centre, hospital, museum, restaurant, theatre, 


theme park, or train in France will need to possess a 


special Covid health pass. Perversely, Macron was 


also keen to stress that “vaccination is not 


immediately obligatory for everyone.”


 


Essentially, no one’s forcing you to get vaccinated – it’s just that 


most spheres of daily life and activities, both indoor and out, will 


be entirely off limits until you do. The Catch-22 situation the UK 


government is subtly contriving in order to impose vaccines, 


and vaccine passports, on the public seems particularly 


insidious, given official data indicates that 87% of 


England’s population aged 18 and over have 


received their first vaccination, without the 


clear threat of not being able to enjoy 


drinks with friends in a pub, among 


other mundane exploits, hanging 


over them.


 


Moreover, the experience of Israel shows that vaccine certificates


 quickly become redundant – in fact, it was just three months after 


Tel Aviv made a “green pass” mandatory for accessing indoor 


spaces that they were scrapped. After all, as the policy had 


served as such a stirring incentive to get vaccinated... all 


Israeli adults had received both doses by April, meaning


 there was no need to inspect anyone’s pass.


 


One needn’t be a cynic to suggest that darker motives lie behind the


 push for vaccine passports. The dire surveillance implications of 


such a resource were starkly outlined in an April briefing note 


from civil liberties organization Big Brother Watch, which 


cautioned that COVID certificates “would become de 


facto identity cards if they were introduced, and 


would likely be retained and expanded in 


purpose and data over time,” marking


 “a profound impact on citizens’ right 


to privacy in the modern context.”


 


“The UK has a proud history of opposition to identity systems and


 personal checks. COVID-status certificates would turn the UK into


 a two-tier, checkpoint society and mark a serious break from our


 long-guarded democratic traditions, of which respect for privacy


 is key,” Big Brother Watch warned. “The combination of apps 


with sensitive health data and the subversion of everyday 


businesses and events into checkpoints, could constitute 


the biggest expansion of surveillance ever seen in


 the UK.”


 


Evidently, for all Downing Street’s newfound cheerfulness and


 libertarian rhetoric, the nine most terrifying words in the


English language very much remain, “I’m from the 


Government, and I’m here to help.”


 


 


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______________________________________________________








More than half of the people living in
democracies believe their freedoms 


have been overly restricted during
the Covid-19 pandemic


May 5th, 8:30am (RT)


 


 


A survey has shown that 53% of citizens living 


in democracies feel their freedoms are being 


infringed upon by their government’s 


response to Covid-19, and the 


dissatisfaction has grown 


since last year.


 


The study, conducted by the Alliance of Democracies 


Foundation & brand tracking firm Latana, published 


Wednesday, claimed that in democratic countries, 


citizens have become less satisfied by their 


government’s response to the pandemic, 


over the course of the past year. 


 


Polling over 53,000 individuals in 53 democracies,


 the survey shows that while 70% of people were 


satisfied with their government’s response in 


spring 2020, satisfaction had fallen to 51% 


in spring 2021. 


 


Concern that governments are doing too much to 


limit personal freedoms has increased too, with 


53% saying their freedoms had been overly 


restricted in spring 2021, versus 45%
in spring 2020.


 


“We now need to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, 


by delivering more democracy & freedom to people 


who want to see their country become more


democratic,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 


Chair of the Alliance of Democracies 


Foundation.


 


The survey, which also looks at other issues relevant 


to many democratic nations, suggests that people 


believe economic inequality to be the biggest 


threat to democracy. Foreign interference 


was seen as a lesser threat, with nearly 


half concerned by the impact of US 


interference on their democracy. 


 


 


If you like this story, share it with a friend!


 


 


_________________________________








WHO Won't Support 

COVID Passports

April 6th, (teleSUR)




Several countries are touting the initiative of 

COVID-passports or immunity passports as 

a safe means to travel and fully reopen

 their economies.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) rejected 

on Tuesday the use of COVID passports amid 

concerns it would not prevent the 

virus's spread.

 

During a press conference, the WHO spokesperson, 

Margaret Harris, said the experts “are not certain
at this stage, that the vaccine prevents
transmission." 

 

Likewise, the official raised concerns that the use of 

these passports could be discriminatory; hence the 

WHO won't endorse it. Getting tested is a requisite 

for an immunity passport. However, in many 

countries, thousands cannot access a 

test;  therefore, these passports 

exclude the majority.

 

Several countries are touting the initiative of COVID-

passports or immunity passports as a safe means 

to travel and fully reopen their economies. Last 

year Chile announced it intended to issue the 

world´s first immunity passports. Germany, 

Italy, and the U.S., have publicly backed 

the alternative.

 

 (See our Health Page, for much, much more...)



__________________________________



 Over 60 Lawmakers Urge 

UK Home Secretary to

End Ban on Protests

20.03.2021 (Sputnik) 

 

Over 60 members of the UK parliament, have written 

to Home Secretary Priti Patel demanding he lift the

 ban on protests during the COVID-19 pandemic 

and deeming it a violation of human rights, 

activists who helped put together the

 letter, said Saturday.

 

The letter, coordinated by the campaign groups Liberty 

and Big Brother Watch, was signed by Conservative 

and Labour MPs, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed 

Davey & a number of peers. It quotes Articles 

10 and 11 of the European Convention of

Human Rights which protect the rights

 to freedom of expression and 

freedom of assembly.

 

"We must all be able to stand up to power and have 

our voices heard. In a healthy democracy, protest 

is a critical way we can fight for what we believe 

in. The Government’s current quasi-ban on 

protest is completely unacceptable," Head 

of Policy and Campaigns at Liberty, Sam 

Grant said, according to a statement
by Big Brother Watch.

 

"A country cannot be described as a democracy if 

people do not have the freedom to protest," Big 

Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo added.

 

This comes after controversy arose last week 

over police handling of peaceful protests 

organised at the vigil at Clapham 

Common in memory of Sarah 

Everard, a woman who was 

kidnapped and murdered 

as she walked home 

in London.

 

Further protests are planned for today by anti-lockdown

campaigners, even though these gatherings are not 

considered as a "reasonable excuse" for leaving 

the house under the current regulations.

 

"The Home Secretary must immediately issue guidance to
all police forces, to ensure socially distanced protests 

can go ahead -- and create an explicit exemption for 

protests in the current regulations. Those in power 

have made clear that they want to silence dissent 

and drastically curtail our right to free
expression," Grant said.

 

Carlo added that the "harrowing scenes" of Metropolitan 

Police officers using force against women at Clapham 

Common were "avoidable and wrong."

 

Met Police officers were criticized for arresting women 

who were attending Everard's vigil last Sunday. The

 Home Office said it was still illegal for people to 

attend protests at a time when regulations are

 in place to prevent wide transmission of the 

COVID-19 virus.

 

Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, disappeared 

as she walked home on the evening of March 3rd. Her 

body was found hidden in a builder's bag in an area 

of woodland in Ashford, Kent on Wednesday.

 

 
____________________________________________




 ‘Law is a mess’: UK parliament committee 

blasts govt over failure to protect ‘right to

 protest’ after Sarah Everard vigil outrage

March 19th, at 18:02pm (RT)

 

The British government failed to make it clear that 

protests were still permissible under Covid-19 

restrictions and confused both the public and 

the police on the issue, a parliamentary 

committee has concluded.

 

The restrictions on gatherings introduced by the

 government during the pandemic have been 

“confusing” and ambiguous, the parliament’s

 Joint Committee on Human Rights said in a 

statement on Friday, adding that protests 

have never been “completely illegal” 

even during lockdown, if 

held properly.

 

The “confusing” nature of the government regulations 

has left the public “unsure of their rights and at risk of

 arbitrary or discriminatory decision-making,” the 

statement said. The government imposed a 

general ban on gatherings but failed to 

make protests an exemption from this 

rule – in a move that the committee 

argued violated the 1998 Human 

Rights Act and the European 

Convention of Human Rights.

 

“The law on the right to protest during the pandemic
has been a mess & the right to protest has not been 

protected,” the committee’s head, Harriet Harman, 

said. The lawmakers looked into how different 

protests in the UK unfolded since the 

government started imposing 

restrictions, due to the
Covid-19 epidemic.

 

The UK has seen quite a number of high-profile rallies 

last year, including the Black Lives Matter protests,

 demonstrations by the defenders of monuments 

targeted by iconoclasts, as well as marches 

against national lockdowns.

 

Most recently, the Reclaim These Streets movement 

organized a number of vigils in commemoration of 

Sarah Everard, a victim of apparent kidnapping 

and murder. One such event in the Clapham 

Common area of London, where Everard 

went missing, ended up in clashes with 

police, after UK law enforcement 

deemed it illegal, under the 

current rules.

 

The incident sparked public outrage and led to another 

rally outside of New Scotland Yard as well as calls for 

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to 

resign. The commissioner herself maintained her 

position that “unlawful gatherings are unlawful 

gatherings,” adding that she did not consider

 resigning.

 

The parliamentary committee blamed the developments 

on the government. “The events of last weekend show 

clearly how the lack of clarity and level of uncertainty 

in the law is unacceptable and must be remedied as 

a matter of urgency,” Harman said.

 

The committee also drafted some amendments to the 

regulations that would “guarantee the right to protest

 in public outdoor places, if done safely” by putting it 

on the same footing as picketing and communal 

worship.

 

Earlier, a legal complaint filed by those seeking to make 

organized vigils permissible under lockdown, was 

defeated in the High Court, which ruled it was
up to the police to decide whether the right
to protest clashes with the broader public 

health considerations - and a ban on 

mass gatherings amid the pandemic.

 

The UK government has, so far  not reacted 

to the parliamentary committee’s statement.




__________________________________________




UK could experience lockdowns 


for 'SEVERAL YEARS' despite 


vaccination program, SAGE 


member warns


February 9th (RT) 


 


A member of the UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for


 Emergencies (SAGE) has claimed that lockdowns could be a 


part of people's lives for "several years" as variants of 


Covid-19 mutate.


 


Professor Sir Ian Boyd, who teaches at the University of St 


Andrews' School of Biology, warned this week against the 


frequent lifting of lockdowns because "it simply fuels a 


new wave of disease" that can cause the virus to


 replicate more and mutate into new strains.


 


"There are a lot of reasons for taking pain now, in order to 


create conditions for controlled release from [restrictions] 


a lot easier," he argued, adding, "Otherwise we risk just 


passing through phases of various levels of lockdown 


and release."


 


Boyd said that lockdowns "could go on for a long time," despite


 the UK's mass vaccination program. "My suspicion is that we 


will experience a damped oscillation of control-release for a 


long time to come — perhaps several years."


 


Brits reacted negatively to the prospect of lockdowns 


still being used in several years, calling it "madness."


 


"Ok. This is ridiculous now,"tweeted journalist James Melville, 


while another social media user argued the country "won’t 


survive" years of lockdowns.


 


"If you are waiting to live, love, and laugh with others again 


until things get back to normal, that normal may never


 come,"commented church pastor Regan Blanton 


King. "Going forward, it is important that we 


prioritise faith and family and lobby


 for freedom."


 


Experts have frequently told Brits that the UK would start 


returning to normal once the majority of the population is 


vaccinated. Mutations of the virus, however, have led to 


an increased concern over whether the vaccines will 


work efficiently against new strains.


 


At least 147 cases of the South African variant, deemed to be 


a faster-spreading strain Of Covid-19, have been recorded 


in the UK, though officials fear the number could 


be higher.


 


Brits seem to have become increasingly fed up with lockdowns,


 which have been implemented in various tiers since March 


2020, according to data which shows more people are 


leaving their homes to go shopping. Most shops are 


forbidden from opening, but stores deemed 


essential like supermarkets, newsagents, 


and pharmacies remain open, while 


others remain open only for 


click-and-collect services.






_______________________



 



Police chief mocked after declaring
British ‘civic duty’ is snitching on
neighbours who violate
Covid-19 rules

(RT updated October 30th, 2020) 




A UK Chief constable has been deluged with mockery 

and Hitler memes, after arguing it’s every resident’s 

duty to turn in neighbours and local businesses for 

breaking lockdown rules and complaining about

how British culture reviles snitches.




UK residents who report their neighbours and local 

businesses to the police for violating the country’s 

increasingly stringent Covid-19 control measures 

are just doing their “civic duty” and should be 

praised, not ostracized, Merseyside chief 

constable Andy Cooke told the Daily
Mail on Wednesday.





“People are doing a civic duty in contacting us for the 

right reasons,” he stated, insisting “the vast majority 

of people across the country are really concerned 

about this” and “any information that you can give 

us, in relation to breaches, will save lives, and
that’s why people are [reporting to the police].”




Lamenting that the practice of turning one’s neighbour in

to the authorities for minor infractions wasn’t more widely 

accepted among respectable Brits, Cooke blamed a 

“sneering culture” for placing rats at the bottom of

the social hierarchy.




His remarks weren’t received well on social media, where 

users were quick to pull out the Nazi pics & Orwell quotes.




“This is what Hitler and Stalin demanded 

of their people,” one user pointed out. 




Others suggested the cops focus on fighting real crime. 

Merseyside saw a 6.3 percent increase in violent crime 

over the past year, according to statistics released

 in July.




A few played along, tweeting that they could “hear voices 

of people having fun and not living in fear” and “even

saw two people hugging, no face masks they were 

even smiling.”




Several suggested the strategy of enlisting civilians
to police their neighbours would backfire, both by 

destroying trust in the police and by creating 

suspicion in communities.




Cooke’s paean to the common snitch came on the heels 

of similar comments by West Midlands Police and Crime 

Commissioner David Jamieson, who said in a Tuesday

 interview that police would not hesitate to break up 

Christmas and other holiday celebrations if they 

“flagrantly” violated the government’s rules 

on gatherings.




National Police Chiefs Council chair Martin Hewitt also promised 

“quicker enforcement” of “blatant” rule violations earlier this 

week, urging members of the public to report “egregious 

breaches” - like pubs being open past the 10pm cutoff - 

that “put everybody at risk.” As of Wednesday, the 

NPCC had issued 20,223 fines for violations of the 

Covid-19 restrictions, including 980 spot tickets

 for breaking lockdown.




Unlike Jamieson, however, Hewitt declined to speculate 

on whether his officers would be breaking up Christmas 

parties, instead merely urging the public to take heed 

of the rules in whatever part of the country they 

opted to spend the holiday. 




Despite a steep fall in the number of deaths with Covid-19 

from the pandemic’s peak earlier this year, the UK has

 introduced a strict three-tier lockdown nationwide, 

barring people from congregating in groups larger 

than six and prohibiting home visits.





______________________________________











Britain died for me this week. It’s become 

a Covid-obsessed police state, and I don’t 

understand what it stands for anymore

by Chris Sweeney. November 7th, 2020 





Chris Sweeney is an author and columnist who has written 

for newspapers such as The Times, Daily Express, The 

Sun and Daily Record, along with several international-

selling magazines. Follow him on Twitter 

@Writes_Sweeney





I’ve always been proud to say I’m British – until now. The

 authorities’ bloody-minded determination to implement
lockdown rules at the expense of people’s wellbeing 

is not what our great country should be about.



Sometimes you can be too close. You are looking, but you

don’t see it. That’s where I found myself this week with 

the current state of Britain --- amid another round of 

ever tighter restrictions caused by the pandemic.




Don’t get me wrong. There are loads of things I’ve always 

loved about my country – our traditional British good 

manners for example. Rather than see it as a sign 

of weakness, I pride myself on our reputation 

for queuing in an orderly fashion. I also like 

that we hold the door open for the person 

behind us.




I admire our outstanding National Health Service, which 

allows everyone to access medical treatment without 

having to dig out a credit card or an insurance plan. 

And I enjoy flying British Airways over far-flung 

lands, offering me some form of attachment 

– even if it is superficial.




I won’t apologise for tea being regarded as the boring 

and bland equivalent to freshly ground coffee – it’s 

our drink, and I love it. And the way we honour 

our war heroes with the humble poppy, is

 thoroughly respectful.




But this week, some of that pride in being British 

died for me. It’s a very different sentiment I’m 

feeling. Beyond disillusionment. Fury even.




How could Britain have fallen so far 

in the way it treats its own people?




It began with the horrifying detention of a 97-year-old

grandmother by police in the Yorkshire town of Market
Weighton. Her daughter, a qualified nurse, wanted to 

bring her home from a care home, to look after her 

during lockdown, and quietly wheeled her out of

 the home.




However somewhere along the line, a jobsworth felt 

the need to justify their existence & reported what 

had happened. The episode ended with her grand-

daughter in tears filming a video, showing her 
own mother in handcuffs inside a squad car, 
while the old woman sat in another car, 
completely bewildered.




The police’s response? They were responding 

to “a report of assault.” Incredible.




The horror continued, as students at the University of

 Manchester’s Fallowfield ''halls of residence'', awoke 

to find workers erecting fences around their facility 

to ensure they couldn’t leave. They were being 

installed, following government guidelines 

asking students not to return to their 

permanent homes.




One student said: “They're huge metal barriers, they're 

connected to one another and there's literally no gaps

….it makes it feel like we're in a prison.”




In what version of the United Kingdom do we keep our 

bright, young people caged like dogs? Unsurprisingly, 

some of the outraged students began to rip them 

down, causing even more angst.




ALSO ON RT.COM

Protests of more than two people 

will be ILLEGAL under updated

 rules for UK national lockdown




Another university using its power to force students 

to bend to its will, is world-famous Cambridge. It 

announced that anyone who leaves its halls 

of residence, won’t be able to graduate or 

progress to the next year. That’s despite 

each paying at least £9,250 per 

academic session.




Then there was the Ripped Gym in Harlow, Essex. It 

opted not to close --- in breach of the government’s 

latest lockdown. The morality of that is debatable, 

but the gym claims it didn’t sell any long-term 

memberships and offered only day passes. 

Whatever you think of the decision, what

 is beyond argument is that it didn’t need 

four police cars and approximately 20 

officers to descend in a raid-style 

scenario.




Were they expecting John Gotti? Rather, it was a well-

meaning business owner & some locals on treadmills. 

The owner ended up being dragged away & was still 

in police custody, at the time of writing.




Contrast this with the most tragic occurrence, the death

 of Corey Liversedge. This 16-year old from Aberdeen-

shire took his own life, as anxiety overcame him as 

a result of the suffocating nature of lockdown.




His grieving parents summoned the bravery to raise 

awareness of his plight, with his mother saying, “It’s 

not just children with diagnosed mental health 

conditions — it can happen to any child, and 

Corey was any child.”




Britain used to be a nation that cared. But now, it seems

 that the priority is treating any slight infraction of lock-

down rules like a terrorist attack, while vulnerable 

people are left to struggle along on their own, 

without help from the wider community.




The complete lack of emotional intelligence from 

our authorities was evidenced by London police 

arresting 104 people in a single night for 

breaching regulations.




What happened to community engagement? Aren’t we 

all supposed to be on the same side? Incredibly, it’s 

now even illegal for anyone to enter or leave Wales

---  unless it is covered by the contentious term of 

“essential travel.” The police, of course, are 

monitoring the roads and pulling over cars 

to conduct checks.




Yes, the pandemic is a serious situation and we 

should not be complacent about 48,000 people 

dying. Precautions have to be taken.




But what is happening across the UK is nothing short 

of barbaric. Our police have turned into robots, 

carrying out whatever they are asked to, 

no matter how cruel or wrong.




The government has forgotten what a wonderful 

population they are tasked with representing, 

and are treating us all like North Korea 

does dissenters.




They say you never really truly appreciate something 

until it’s gone. And I’m petrified that the courteous, 

courageous sprit that defines Britain, is on the 

point of disappearing for good, crushed by 

the uncaring iron first of the Covid-

obsessed authorities.




We deserve better than this.




Like this story? Share it with a friend!






 


COVID19 in the UK the story so far...
please see our Health page.



United Nations Universal Declaration on Bioethics and 

Human Rights, Article 6 - Consent: Any preventive, 

diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention 

is only to be carried out with the prior, free and 

informed consent of the person concerned. 


Article 3 - Human dignity and human rights: 

The interests and the welfare of the 

individual should have priority over 

the sole interest of science 

or society.







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 South 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, and 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


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browse venues in Wales

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02920 230130

Cash tickets from:

The Factory, Porth
Instrumental Music, Penygraig
Spillers Records, Cardiff


For more details visit


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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 - watch this
video in Kilburn, London: don't believe
the dripping poison of the media and
the corrupt MPs -- and understand
Jeremy's role !


______________________________________


press


March 22nd, 2018 
Karl Rogers Analysis, UK
Spread the word: Facebook Twitter



On 20 March, the Labour Party appointed Jennie Formby
as its new general secretary. The right-wing press
immediately attacked her appointment.



 Ignoring her formidable record as a union organiser and
work in the NEC, Formby has been represented as
Jeremy Corbyn’s puppet - and as evidence of his
 “hard-left” seizure of the Labour Party machine.
 
But it’s obvious why the press barons
are running scared.



Media red scaremongering



Formby barely had time to update her Linkedin profile
and Twitter feed...  before the right-wing press came
gunning for her. Predictably, the billionaire-owned
 propaganda machine, spun the news of her
 appointment, as a sinister seizure of power
by Corbyn & Unite leader Len McCluskey.



The Telegraph ran the headline: Corbyn and McCluskey
 tighten grip on Labour party as ally Jennie Formby
 appointed party’s new general secretary. The
 Express went with: Corbyn cements grip on
Labour as hard-left union boss Formby
named general secretary. The Sun
also framed the appointment as
an imposed “hard-left” takeover
 of the Labour Party. And The
Times declared “moderates
are no longer welcome”
 in the Labour Party.



Heather Stewart, political editor of The Guardian,
termed the appointment a “coronation” and
declared it the culmination of Corbyn’s
“two-year battle” to gain “complete
 control of the party machine”.