Rhondda Records is with you every day bringing the news ------- that gives a view of world events different to the mainstream media or social media!
Except Sundays - our day of rest.
Journalist:To end war ------
prosecute UK, US officials
who wage(d) it illegally
October 22nd, 10:12pm (PressTV)
The world must finally put an end to the impunity of war
criminals, by holding US and UK officials responsible
for launching the illegal war on Iraq, done without
the approval of the UN Security Council, and
prosecuting them --- under the Nuremberg
principles, US journalist Don DeBar said.
DeBar made the remarks in an interview with Press TV while
commenting on a report which has revealed that the British
military inquiries into abuse against Iraqi nationals... have
been closed without a single prosecution being brought,
even though the credibility of many "shocking and
shameful incidents" during the war in the Middle
Eastern country, have been confirmed.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement
this week that the Service Police Legacy Investigations,
which was looking at claims of abuse in Iraq, had now
"officially closed its doors."
In March 2003, the US and Britain invaded Iraq in blatant
violation of international law and under the pretext of
finding WMDs; but no such weapons were ever
discovered in Iraq.
More than one million Iraqis were killed - as the result of
the US-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq
--- according to the California-based investigative
organization, Project Censored.
The US war in Iraq cost US taxpayers $1.7 trillion with
an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans, expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest, according to a study called Costs of War Project --- by the Watson Institute for
International Studies at Brown University.
DeBar told Press TV that the Iraq war
was illegal from the very beginning.
"It is illegal for a nation to make war on another nation if it
does not have the approval of the UN Security Council, if
any of those nations are signatories to the original UN
Charter. And it’s been adopted - that happened with
the US, as a charter member of the UN -- and it was
approved by the US Senate in the 1940s.
Consequently, the US involvement in Iraq from the beginning, and the UK involvement in Iraq from the beginning, was illegal,” he said.
“And under the Nuremberg standards, which would then
apply, each and every death consequent – intentional
or not - to either US or UK military action there, or
condoning of the US action there, by the media
or public officials, or any act facilitating that,
is an individual war crime. And, by the way,
there’s a death penalty for that,” the
journalist noted.
“No one will prosecute these people. That’s why I started
with the word impunity. And we might bookend with that
because that’s the problem. And until the world puts an
end to that impunity, until the world sees the major
contradiction in all international relations, is US,
UK, and EU imperialism, then it’s going to
continue until this eats our species,”
he stated.
A damning White House memo had revealed details of the
so-called “deal in blood” forged by former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush
over the Iraq war.
The document, titled “Secret... Memorandum for the
President”, was sent by then-US Secretary of State
Colin Powell to President Bush on March 28th, 2002, a week before Bush’s summit with Blair at his Crawford ranch in Texas.
The sensational memo, revealed that Blair had agreed to
support the war a year before the invasion even started
while publicly, the British prime minister was working to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The document also disclosed that Blair agreed to act as a
spin doctor for Bush and convince a skeptical public that
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass
Destruction, which actually did not exist.
In response, Bush would flatter Blair and give the
impression that London was not Washington’s
poodle but an equal partner in the
“special relationship.”
Powell told Bush that Blair “will be with us” on the
Iraq war, and assured the president that “"the UK
will follow our lead in the Middle East."
Blair has always denied the claim that he and Bush
signed a deal “in blood”, at Crawford, to launch a
war against Iraq that began on March 20th, 2003,
that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The Powell memo, however, showed how Blair and
Bush secretly prepared the Iraq war plot behind
closed doors at Crawford.
Powell told Bush: “He will present to you the strategic,
tactical and public affairs lines, that he believes will
One of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip is struggling severely
with low electricity supply, putting the lives of patients in its
intensive care unit (ICU) at great risk, a report shows amid
the Israeli regime’s continued violations of a ceasefire
reached five months ago.
The Saturday report by Al Jazeera English - said that two main
generators at Al-Aqsa Hospital, in central Gaza, are no longer
functioning because the medical facility lacks the fuel and
essential spare parts needed to keep them running.
The report said the situation has become very dire at Al-Aqsa
Hospital, as the facility may decide to ration electricity to
prioritize certain wards, including the ICU.
It said the facility --- is currently running on two small backup
generators that are not enough to sustain critical life-saving
services and departments, and may shut down at any
moment due to a lack of fuel and spare parts.
That could put the lives of many critically
ill patients at great risk.
“Generators are now seen as the heartbeat of every hospital here
[in Gaza] … as they power ventilators, incubators, surgical
theatres and dialysis machines… but now these lifelines
are breaking down,” the Qatari news channel’s
correspondent in Gaza said.
The crisis at Al-Aqsa Hospital has deepened in recent weeks
simply because the Israeli regime continues to block the
free flow of aid into Gaza ---- violating the terms of a
ceasefire agreement announced on October 10.
The regime has killed around 600 Palestinians after the ceasefire,
while refusing to release.. dozens of Palestinian doctors and
medical workers detained since the start of its genocidal
war on Gaza in October 2023.
The genocide has left over 72,000 Palestinians
dead .....and 171,000 wounded ---------- in Gaza.
________________________________________________
Iran drawing US-Israeli enmitybecause
it blocks their‘Greater Israel’ scheme:
Hezbollah official
February 14th, 9:54am
(PressTV)
Iran is drawing US and Israeli hostility because it is blocking
the so-called “Greater Israel” scheme in the region, says
a senior Hezbollah official.
Sheikh Ali Damoush, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, said
on Saturday that Washington and Israel are targeting the Islamic
Republic also because of its “Islamic and revolutionary nature.”
“The enmity of America and the Zionist regime, and their attempts
to strike the Islamic Republic of Iran, are due to its Islamic-
revolutionary identity,” he said.
Damoush added that Iran has been singled out because it remains
the only country firmly positioned in the axis of confrontation
against the Israeli occupation.
He also warned of efforts to drag the region into a new conflict.
A war against Iran today, he said, “would benefit Israel
....before it benefits America.”
The remarks come amid increasing US military threats against Iran
in recent weeks, despite the beginning of a new round of indirect
talks focused on Iran’s nuclear issue and the termination of US
sanctions, in Oman.
According to Damoush, Tel Aviv has been trying to derail
negotiations between Tehran and Washington and has
been seeking pretexts to ignite a war.
Turning to the idea of so-called “Greater Israel,” Damoush said Iran
and the Axis of Resistance have blocked Israeli expansionism
and prevented the realization of the conspiracy.
“The realization of this project --- and enabling this regime to dominate
the region has one key path: the elimination of Iran and its regional
allies. However, they stand in the way of Israel,” he said.
The term “Greater Israel” has resurfaced in Israeli political discourse
in recent years. In August last year, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu told Israeli media he felt a deep connection to
“this vision,” referring to Israeli-occupied Palestinian
territories as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon, and described it as “an historical
- and spiritual - mission.” The remarks drew
strong condemnation from several
regional countries.
Hezbollah hails 47 years of Iranian progress
as proof of ‘abject failure’ of Western plots
Hezbollah has lauded the Islamic Republic of Iran as a beacon of
resistance, saying its continued progress serves as definitive
proof that decades of “hostile conspiratorial policies” led
by the United States and Israel ..have failed.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Damoush addressed Lebanon’s internal
dynamics. He described resistance - as the source of Lebanon’s
strength and deterrence against Israel over the past 30 years.
“Everyone must know --- that our people will not surrender
and remain determined to secure all their rights,” he said.
He added that resistance is a legitimate right and “a symbol
of Lebanon’s dignity and pride,” insisting that no one,
regardless of position, can eliminate it or strip it
of its legitimacy.
Today, February 14th, in 1947,
Pham Tuan,
Hero of the People's Armed Forces,
Vietnam Assembly member of the Communist Party of Vietnam,
Hero of Labour of Vietnam,
Hero of the Soviet Union, Order of Ho Chi Minh,
the Order of Lenin,
a fighter pilot & cosmonaut,
is born.
He became the first Vietnamese cosmonaut, and the first
person of Asian origin to be in space - when he was
launched aboard the Soyuz 37 mission, as an
Interkosmos research cosmonaut.
Pham Tuan was born in Kien Xuong,
in Thai Binh province..... in
northern Vietnam.
Initially an Infantry soldier.... he was recruited into the Vietnam
People's Air Force (VPAF) in 1965 as a radar mechanic student.
He was then selected for pilot training as a commissioned
officer, graduating at the Krasnodar Flight School, in the
Soviet Union as a MiG-17 pilot in 1967, then moved-up
for training in the MiG-21, and becoming assigned to
the VPAF 910th Air Training Regiment from 1968 to
1969 while participating in developing night-time
interception techniques against U.S. air raids
...and then attached with the 923rd Fighter
Regiment from 1969 to 1970, finally with
the 921st Fighter Regiment from 1970
to 1973.
On the nights of 18–27 December in 1972, during the "Christmas Bombings", then-Major Pham engaged B-52 heavy bombers at least a dozen times.
On the 27th, Pham was able to get close to a B-52 formation at supersonic-speed in his MiG-21MF (#5121) and fire a pair of missiles in the sub-4 km range, visually identifying and
reporting that his missile(s) struck the B-52D, causing
it to go down in flames over the border of Hoa Binh–
Vinh Phuc province.
Pham Tuan ----- shot down the B-52 with two K-13 air-to-air missiles within a range of 4 kilometres.
"My plane was only about 10km away from the B-52 bombers when I
detected them. Jettisoning my external fuel tank, I immediately
asked for an order to attack (from GCI). Even though I was
approaching the bombers beyond the sound-barrier, it
felt like time.. was moving very slowly. The enemy's
escort group of F-4 fighters, had not detected us.
Just to be certain ---- I continued to shorten the
distance, within the 3km range, and launched
the missiles and as I was escaping, I clearly
saw the moments both missiles exploded
against the B-52 ---- now going down in
flames; the F-4s would certainly be
after me now, but I've escaped."
In 1989, Tuan was given the position of "Deputy Commander for
Political Affairs" within the Vietnam People's Air Force. He was
promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 1999. In 2000,
Tuan was Director of the Vietnam Defence Industry. He
eventually retired at the end of 2007.
Tuan reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the VPAF, before
eventually training to be a research cosmonaut in the joint
USSR-Vietnamese space program. Tuân was initially sent
to the USSR to train as a radar engineer. There was a
shortage of eligible Vietnamese pilots, so Tuan was sent to cosmonaut flight training.
Tuan was selected as a member of the sixth international crew
for the Interkosmos program. His backup was Bui Thanh Liem.
Tuan, along with Soviet cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko, was launched
from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 23 July 1980, on board the Soyuz
37 mission --- to the Salyut 6 space station. Tuan was informed
3 days prior that he would be the main pilot of the Soyuz 37.
During his time in orbit, Tuân performed experiments on the melting
of mineral samples in microgravity. He also carried out plant
experiments on azolla and photographed Vietnam from
orbit for mapping purposes. Tuân was in space for 7
days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes, completing 142
orbits, and returned to Earth on 31 July 1980.
In addition to photographing the territory, the two astronauts also
conducted a series of experiments, observing the terrain, rivers,
seas, mineral deposits, etc, according to Vietnamese scientific
research topics. These space-based photographs later helped
the forestry and fisheries sectors identify areas for
reforestation, or efficient fishing.
Pilot Pham Tuan's spacesuit - held photos of President
Ho Chi Minh, General Secretary Le Duan, a handful
of soil from Ba Dinh Square, the Declaration of
Independence, President Ho Chi Minh's Last
Will and Testament and the red flag with a
yellow star..... all were stamped with the
Space Station's seal and brought back
to Earth ---- as sacred evidence of
Vietnam's presence in space.
Tuan has stated that his personal relationship with his Russian
friends has continued to this day. Every year, he travels long
distances to meet up with his fellow Russian cosmonauts.
Tuan is married and has two children. He is now a retired
Lieutenant General, director of the General Department
of the Defense Industry of the Ministry of Defence and
is a member of the National Assembly of Vietnam.
As the spacecraft flew over Vietnamese territory, Pham Tuan
was given a priority observation position to capture images
of his homeland from space. Seeing the shape of his
country, he exclaimed, "It's so beautiful! I am ...incredibly happy."
From space, he sent a message back to Earth: "A son of Vietnam
is flying over the skies of my homeland. I send my regards and
thanks to the people who have made it possible for me to
....fly into space."
''During the eight days I spent in space, I realized - that mankind
needs height primarily to better know our long-suffering Earth
...to see what cannot be seen close up. Not just to love her
beauty, but also to ensure that we do not bring even the
slightest harm.. to the natural world.''
China labels Israeli-occupied lands
as‘high risk area,’bans all new
investments: Report
February 5th, 7:41pm
PressTV)
A Chinese investment fund has revealed that the Beijing
government has imposed a ban on all new investment
in Israeli-occupied lands due to the regime’s brutal
aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip.
The news emerged in Israeli media outlets, amid a lawsuit filed
by members of Kibbutz Hanita against Ballet Vision, a Chinese
-controlled fund that holds an 80% stake in Hanita Lenses, an
intraocular lens manufacturing plant located in the northern
part of the occupied lands near the Lebanese border.
Israeli settlers from the kibbutz have filed a lawsuit against the
fund, which controls 80 percent of an intraocular lens plant
located in the northern settlement.
A lawsuit filed in the Tel Aviv district court shows the kibbutz is
seeking approximately $11 million, accusing the fund of failing
to exercise an option to purchase their remaining shares, as
stipulated in a prior agreement.
According to a response letter from Ballet attached to the
lawsuit... the Chinese government has classified Israeli-
occupied lands as a "high-risk area" or "red category"
due to the ongoing situation in the West Asia region,
specifically since Oct. 7, 2023.
“Since the outbreak of the fighting, the Chinese government
has classified Israel as a high-risk zone (red category) and
prohibited any new Chinese investment in the Israeli-
occupied lands,” it said in the letter.
The letter further says that until the restriction
is lifted, the transaction.... is not feasible.
“As long as this restriction remains in place, there is no
practical operational ability to exercise the option,”
it added
Aside from the Chinese government's ban on investing in
Liu Yuxiao, a director of Ballet Vision and CEO of the lens
manufacturing plant, earlier said that Hanita Lenses
sustained losses of around $15 million over a
period of three years --- as well as a
$4 million debt. This resulted in
severe financial issues.
Yuxiao said he became the CEO in March last year to try
to prevent total collapse, and added that the company
may now break even in 2026.
The developments also come as ties between the two sides
were deteriorating over the self-ruling island of Taiwan,
which has been looking to the Zionist entity for
increased military cooperation.
China has already warned Israel against providing military
expertise and technology to Taiwan under the guise of
civilian programs.
Tel Aviv is reportedly assisting Taipei with integrating
elements of its Green Pine and Arrow systems in
order to develop the Tian Gong-4 missile
system, which will be part of the
T-Dome network.
The military cooperation comes despite ongoing Chinese
warnings that it would not tolerate Israeli ties with the
island, which it considers a renegade province.
Taiwan wants to deepen its ties with Israel and its
administration has refrained from condemning
the Tel Aviv regime's crimes in the besieged
Gaza Strip ---- and the other occupied
Palestinian territories.
The world and her daughter are calling for a boycott of the genocidal colonial apartheid state of Israel.
Place yourself on the right side of joy and sorrow by joining the world's boycott - say ''no'' to evil!
Keir Hardie - Britain's first Labour MP - opposedWorld War One.
His namesake is stammering his way in the opposite direction.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
ROGER WATERS TO MUSICIANS:- "BOYCOTT ISRAEL"
Roger Waters formerly of Pink Floyd, in an open letter, calls on his fellow musicians --- to boycott the Zionist Israeli regime and follow the example of the cultural boycott against the ex S. African Apartheid regime.
“Given the inability or unwillingness of our governments [to act] …. I write to you now, my brothers and sisters … to ask you to join with me, & thousands of other artists around the world, to declare a cultural boycott on Israel,” Roger Waters says in his letter.
Waters says the Zionist regime has been found guilty of major breaches of human rights and international law by international organizations, UN officials and the International Court of Justice.
He touches on two such cases, saying the regime has been identified as perpetrating the “crime of Apartheid”, including in a statement on March 9th, 2012 by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the “crime of ethnic cleansing” including in East Jerusalem (al-Quds).
Waters adds that he has been a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Israeli regime’s occupation of the Palestinian lands and Tel Aviv’s violations of Palestinian human rights for 7 years, and now wants other musicians to also join the anti-Israeli front.
“Please join me and all our brothers and sisters in global civil society in proclaiming our rejection of Apartheid in Israel & occupied Palestine, by pledging not to perform or exhibit in Israel or accept any award or funding from any institution linked to the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights.”
The former Pink Floyd Musician also says he has recently faced a boycott by the US media after his November 29th, 2012 address at the UN on behalf of the Russell Tribunal.
In the address, he sought accountability for the Zionist regime’s violations of the international law and the lack of United Nations resolve that prevents the Palestinian people from achieving their inalienable rights, especially the right of self-determination.
____________________
AT THE FACTORY
Tickets from
www.wegottickets.com/thefactory
www.ticketweb.co.uk
browse venues in Wales
www.ticketlineuk.com
02920 230130
Cash tickets from:
The Factory, Porth Instrumental Music, Penygraig Spillers Records, Cardiff
Indulge in a delicious cake and a cup of tea while enjoying music and sing-along songs from fantastic Welsh musicians.
Ticket information:
The Cultural Services Booking & Information Line:
08000 147 111 or book online at
www.rct-arts.co.ukÂÂ
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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
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Comedy In The Laughter Lounge
The Park & Dare Theatre, Treorchy.
COMEDY IN THE LAUGHTER LOUNGE
Join us once a month in the intimate setting of the Laughter Lounge for some top notch comedy with some of the biggest and brightest rising comedians on the circuit.
Laugh? You'll snort like a pig!
Hilarious - TimeOut.
www.rct-arts.co.uk
Rhondda Records exists to express the Rhondda's vision --- when it was confident, powerful, caring, and socialist.
A Rhondda very aware of the media's poisonous tricks -- how they con working class people into attacking each other, or racial groups, or, often, even their best allies and friends... instead of seeing their real enemies:--- an elite who hate the very idea that working people can think, create, or achieve a fairer society.
Thatcher said her proudest achievement was Blair and New Labour - who parachuted in careerists and expenses fiddlers - to stop local Labour members having a say, and who made genuine socialist MPs leave the Labour party in disgust and many members and voters to despair... and the young to stop voting.
Jeremy Corbyn was always attacked because he was trying to reverse all that New Labour corruption --- that's why membership was flooding in all over the UK.
______________________________________
Get Involved!
– If you feel you’ve been ‘purged’, take this online survey:
– Request all your own data that the Labour Party holds on you:
http://www.labour.org.uk/pages/privacy
_______________________________________
IF - YOU THINK you HAVE BEEN UNFAIRLY BARRED:
“Any member who is suspended & intends to appeal the decision should throw in a ‘Subject Access Request in accordance with the Data Protection Act’ --- for ALL data that the Labour Party hold on them.
The Labour Party are Data Controllers and therefore have to, by law, provide you with all material/information they hold on you.”
If anyone is in contact with anyone who was barred from voting --- please can you pass this info on:
The Labour leadership election was under the jurisdiction of the electoral reform services.
If you were unfairly deprived of your vote you can call them on 0208 365 8909 and lodge your complaint, and inform them of your Data Protection request.
https://www.electoralreform.co.uk
The notification letters barring new members did not give a clear reason, or information on how to appeal, so Vox Political suggests that anyone in this situation, could also contact Liz Davies here: http://www.whycantivote.com
She is a barrister --- who can advise members on what to do.
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PONCY LABOUR MPS PROBLEM?
A huge drop in working-class Labour MPs, caused a massive drop in support among voters with similar backgrounds, reveals research seeking to explain why support has dwindled in the party’s heartlands.
The study says past leaders like Kinnock and Blair made a concerted effort to pick “more and more middle-class candidates to run for office, during the 80s and 90s, as part of an effort to rebrand” -- which had initial successes at the ballot box.
But this “conscious electoral strategy” stored up problems, as working-class voters who initially, just didn’t vote in response, now seek an alternative.
The solution?Trust each constituency to put forward its own candidates, and don't impose ‘party-approved’ choices who can't do the job.
Now, unfortunately, there are "entryist" MPs who, for decades, have been groomed by CIA cold war relic organisations -- like the Atlantic Council -- and are now trying to misdirect the Labour Party towards cuts, a militarised police, and a US war agenda... - and their anti-Corbyn slant is hobbling Labour.
‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guide to Reselection and Democratic Accountability by Eric Sim, excellent free advice here:
http://novaramedia.com/2016/07/13/how-can-i- deselect-my-labour-mp-a-short-guide-to- reselection-and-democratic-accountability/ CHRIS BRYANT - SUPPORT THE MEMBERS' LEADERSHIP CHOICE & POLICIES - OR GO!
Chris Bryant, the Rhondda's dodgy MP, was on TV -- as soon as the PLP coup started -- telling us that Jeremy MUST go, because it was the ONLY way to act in the Labour Party's interest...
Chris Bryant's voting record: from TheyWorkForYou.com
On Tuition Fees:
On 27 Jan 2004: Chris Bryant voted in favour of university tuition fees increasing from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees to increase from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted for the introduction of variable university tuition fees (top-up fees) of up to £3,000 per year in place of the previous fixed fee of £1,250 per year.
On 31 Mar 2004: Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees to increase from £1,125 per year to up to £3,000 per year, and to make other changes to higher education funding and regulation arrangements.
On 14 Sep 2004: Chris Bryant voted against: the immediate abolition of all tuition fees, the re-introduction of maintenance grants of up to £2,000 for students from low-income homes, and changes to the country's higher education system.
On 14 Sep 2004: Chris Bryant voted to reject the Liberal Democrat policy of abolition of tuition fees.
On 25 May 2016: Chris Bryant was absent for a vote on Queen's Speech - Forcing Schools to Become Academies - Further Rises in University Tuition Fees
On Human Rights:
Consistently voted for introducing ID cards
Almost always voted for requiring the mass retention of information about communications
Generally voted for mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities
On the Environment:
Generally voted against greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas
On Special Interests:
Almost always voted against limits on success fees paid to lawyers in no-win no fee cases
Generally voted against a statutory register of lobbyists
On War or Peace:
Generally voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
Consistently voted for the Iraq war
Consistently voted against an investigation into the Iraq war
Generally voted for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system
On 2 Dec 2015: Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria [without UN authorisation]
On 2 Dec 2015: Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria [without UN authorisation]
On Independence:
Generally voted for more EU integration
____________________________
Chris Bryant Labour MP From Wikipedia
(aka 1962-1986: Mr Christopher John Bryant 1986-1991: The Reverend Christopher John Bryant, 1991-2001: Mr Christopher John Bryant, 2001-: Mr Christopher John Bryant MP.)
Born in Cardiff, to a Scottish mother & a Welsh father, Bryant grew up in Cardiff, Wales (where his father worked for 5 years), and Cheltenham.
He was educated at Cheltenham College, an independent school for boys in the spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, where he was captain of the school swimming team, and Mansfield College at the University of Oxford, where he graduated in 1983, with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English. This was later promoted to a Master of Arts degree (MA (Oxon)), as per tradition.
After completing his first degree, Bryant began training to be a priest in the Church of England at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, in Oxfordshire. There, he obtained a degree in theology.
Although a member of the Conservative Party, and an elected office-holder in the Oxford University Conservative Association, he joined the Labour Party in 1986, after leaving Oxford.
He was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in 1987. He served as a Curate at the Church of All Saints, High Wycombe, from 1986 to 1989; then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough, as well as travelling in Latin America.
In 1991 Bryant left the ordained ministry, after deciding that being gay and being a priest, were incompatible. Statements made by Richard Harries, then Bishop of Oxford, also influenced his decision.
After leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant worked as the election agent to the Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party, where he helped Frank Dobson hold his seat in the 1992 general election.
From 1993, he was Local Government officer for the Labour Party; he lived in Hackney and was elected to Hackney Borough Council in 1993, serving until 1998. He became Chair of the Christian Socialist Movement.
He is both a member of the Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East. From 1994 to 1996 he was London manager of the leader-grooming "charity", Common Purpose.
He was Labour candidate for Wycombe, in the 1997 general election (he lost by 2,370 votes), and Head of European Affairs for the BBC, from 1998.
His selection for the very safe Labour seat of Rhondda, South Wales in 2000, shocked many people given Bryant's background – gay, an ex- Anglican vicar, and someone who was a Tory, while studying at Oxford, and a member now, of the Henry Jackson Society 'think tank' --- described by The Guardian newspaper as 'neoconservative'. It is pro-US, pro-NATO and pro-military intervention, as well as being fundamentally anti-socialist.
Fifty-two people applied for the candidature and a local councillor was hot favourite to win, before Bryant was parachuted in.
In 2004, a photograph of Mr Bryant in his underpants, which he had posted to a gay dating website, was published in 'papers.
When an interviewer suggested he was a 'disgrace to the Rhondda', he replied: "They can't get rid of me."
His pay, allowances and some expenses:
The basic annual salary for an MP, from April 1st, 2016 is £74,962. MPs also get expenses: to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, having some- where to live in London, plus, in their constituency and travelling between Parliament and their constituency.
His MP's expenses story:
Chris Bryant changed second home twice to claim £20,000: the deputy leader of the House of Commons, "flipped" his second home twice, in 2 years, allowing him to claim almost £20,000 for renovations and fees.
Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda, split over £92,000 of expenses between 3 properties in Wales and London --- within five years.
In 2004, he attempted to claim £58,000 to overhaul his second home in Wales, after allegedly complaining that properties in his constituency were "terrace or mine owners' houses".
Mr Bryant, a former Church of England clergyman, wanted the money for a new bathroom & kitchen, and to demolish his conservatory. He'd bought the detached house for £97,500, under a year earlier.
He submitted a claim to the Commons fees office for £58,493.26 --- almost 3 times the annual maximum. He noted that the claim exceeded his allowance.
His alleged justification was disclosed... in correspondence between Commons officials. By email, an official wrote: "He had problems finding a suitable property because in the Rhondda there is a choice mainly of terraced property or mine owners' houses." When approached by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Bryant said: "I have never said or thought anything of the sort".
In all, he successfully claimed over £13,000 for renovations, repairs & appliances, in 2004. Along with other bills, his annual claim was £20,902.
In April 2005, he flipped his expenses to his flat in west London, which he bought for £400,000 in April 2002. He also claimed £630 a month for mortgage interest, along with other bills. After claiming over £3,600 over 3 months, he sold the flat in July 2005 for £477,000.
Mr Bryant used his profits to buy a more expensive flat in west London, which was valued at £670,000. He immediately flipped his second home expenses there, claiming almost £6,400 in stamp duty, legal fees and mortgage fees, incurred in the purchase.
He then began claiming interest of £1,000 a month on the mortgage. He also claimed a further £6,000 a year for the flat's service charge and ground rent.
In all, he claimed £92, 415 in second home expenses, from 2004 to 2009.
Mr Bryant said at the time: "I moved flat in London, so as to be closer to Parliament."
Research by Channel 4 News in 2015 found that at least 46 MPs had this kind of system in place – a move one Labour backbencher described as “a new fiddle”. Channel 4 reported then:
“Our investigation found that many of the MPs bought their London properties with the help of the taxpayer, when a previous expenses system allowed them to claim back mortgage payments. But when those claims were banned, following the expenses scandal, they switched to letting out their properties, in some cases for up to £3,000 a month. They then started claiming expenses for rent and hotels in the capital.”
Among those identified was Chris Bryant, shadow leader of the House of Commons. He had already bought a penthouse in London back in 2005 and claimed around £1,000 a month in mortgage claims under the old system.
But after the expenses scandal, he started renting the property out. It’s since been advertised by estate agents as having a private lift and a porter, with rent at about £3,000 a month. Meanwhile, Bryant moved into a new flat;- claiming his own rent on expenses.
Russian/Scottish scientists hail long-range secure quantum communication system.
A group of scientists from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has developed a new approach to constructing quantum communication systems for secure data exchange.
The experimental device based on the results of the research is capable of transmitting single-photon quantum signals across distances of 250 klmtrs or more, which is on par with its cutting edge analogues, the ITMO press-service says.
"Now researchers are on a mission -- to create a fully-fledged quantum cryptographic system, that will generate & distribute quantum keys and transmit useful data simultaneously", ITMO says.
Information security is becoming more and more of a critical issue not only for large companies, banks and defense enterprises but even for small businesses and individual users.
But the data encryption algorithms we currently use for protecting our data are imperfect - in the long-term, their logic can be cracked. Regardless of how complex and intricate the algorithm is, getting around it, is just a matter of time.
Unlike algorithm-based encryption, systems that protect information, by making use of fundamental laws of quantum physics, can make data transmission totally immune to hacker attacks, in the future.
Information in a quantum channel is carried by single photons that change irreversibly if an eavesdropper tries to intercept them. The legitimate users will instantly know about any kind of intervention.
Researchers at the Quantum Information Centre of the International Institute of Photonics and Optical Information Technology at ITMO Uni., Russia, along with their colleagues from the Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, have devised a new way to generate and distribute, quantum bits.
This makes it possible to share quantum signals --- via optical fibres --- 250 kilometres in distance.
"To transmit quantum signals, we use the so- called side frequencies," says Artur Gleim, head of the Quantum Information Centre, at ITMO University,
"This unique approach gives us a number of advantages -- such as a considerable simplification of the device architecture and the large pass-through capacity of the quantum channel. In terms of bit rate and operating distances, our system is comparable to absolute champions in the field of quantum communications."
According to Robert Collins, research associate at the Institute of Photonics & Quantum Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, and one of the authors of the study, this may become a pivotal point for the whole field of quantum communication and cryptography:
"Down the track, this new approach can enable smooth coexistence of numerous data streams with different wavelengths in one single optical cable. On top of it, these quantum streams can be fed into the already existing fibre optic lines --- along with conventional communications."
The research paper is published in the Optics Express journal.
Scottish universities are to be congratulated for their strong & growing links with Chinese and Russian universities....
What a shame, that Wales is lying low --- with academics too scared to break from US military research.
KILLING THE ELDERLY BY CLOSING CARE HOMES
Did you know that each time a local authority
closes a care home for the elderly, within 8
months, around half the residents are dead?
Campaigners liken the cuts and their effect to euthanasia of the UK's elderly. What to do?
We can start by urging our MPs to sign EDM 2251:
EDM 2251: The contents
This House notes with deep concern the worsening crisis for elderly care as growing numbers of local authority and private care homes face closure
Acknowledges concerns that the loss of elderly people's care homes causes fear, anxiety and, in many cases, a higher mortality rate, when vulnerable, elderly people are forced to leave their homes
Further notes that the Southern Cross crisis will increase needs for local authority care
And therefore calls on the government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths after closures, of local authority care homes, and impose a moratorium on the closure of local authority care homes, until that inquiry publishes its results, to ensure that vulnerable, elderly people's lives are not put at further risk.
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MAKING THE CONNECTION IN WALES
Households across three more English areas will be able to access superfast broadband in the latest phase of a Government scheme to connect rural homes and businesses.
The £50 million funding package for Devon and Somerset (£30 million), Norfolk (£15 million) and Wiltshire (£4 million) will aid the roll- out of superfast broadband services unable to be reached by the market alone.
Areas will also receive financial support from their local authorities and private investors, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport says.
So it's Broadband Heaven for England...
and crapola for Wales' broadband - the
slowest, worst Broadband in the UK !!!
Lib Dems in Scotland might have received a pummeling for Clegg and his betrayals, yet, in Scotland, their campaign centred on it becoming the "most connected country in Europe," to massively boost their economy.
In Wales, which political party is now willing to put into practice scientists' recommendations: that Wales' hilly topography requires establishing
free 'wireless' broadband?
It could connect the people of Rhondda and the world, boosting Wales' economic regeneration, like no other move.Wireless technology is now supplying free broadband to an entire island off New Zealand's coast.
Come on; if New Zealand can do it - so can we !!!
Western China has embraced "green-mode development" - with painful changes from which, Wales could well learn.
Eastern China has seen fast growth and urban mess. The West, a mining and agricultural area, has not.
Xi'an Chan-ba Ecological District, is a model for reclaiming old mining areas.
It took six hard years, but now Xi'an is showing the world how best to change, by turning a badly polluted rubbish landfill site, into an all new environment-friendly development.
As China's economic focus moves from east to west, it's using the lessons learned during 30 or more years of rapid industrial development.
The green way for China's west, is to combine green industrialization & green urbanization.
The western region's strategy is to adopt effective energy-saving and environmental protection technologies... AND to extend its industry through science and products unique to China's West, together with strong vertical growth in agriculture and all its ancilliary economic & professional spin-offs.
In undertaking this industrial revolution, the western region will keep a sharp eye out - to avoid all polluting non-sustainable industries.
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A BIG DROP OF HONEY !!!
Spring is beekeeping and honey-processing season in Yunnan province, in China.
Waves of bees flit across vast fields of flowers.
Local beekeepers and many from other places, such as Sichuan and Fujian provinces - set up their base in tents among the rapeseed farms.
The 430,000 hectares of rapeseed blooms in Luoping attract myriads of bees, which produce 15 - 20 million tons of honey a year.
Local people now look to brand their county as a honey production base & increase sales to outside markets.
Luoping Tianyuanmiyu Bee Industry Co Chair, Zhu Hongkun, founded his enterprise in 2009.
It mainly produces honey, propolis and propolis powder.
His company works with 270 plus beekeepers, who each earn 80,000 yuan a year on average.
Some earn 200,000 yuan annually, Zhu says.
Who says beauty endowed by nature isn't worth a fortune?
The whole of the uplands of south Wales could be as beautiful & productive, if used wisely!
CHINA's PREMIER POINTS WAY FORWARD
As the Tories threaten a "bonfire of the Quangos", perhaps Wales should take note. Now extracting all our mineral wealth has been stopped (apart from sand and rock) we find ourselves "in" the 1st World of the UK, but with a 3rd World economy, only just kept going by quangos which promise much... but deliver little... and rely on weak public support.
We could WAKE UP & understand that we either do something, or stay as begging bowl cases.
China's premier points the way forward for Wales:
"Industrial restructuring is the key... only by developing energy-efficient, indigenous innovative and high value added products can our companies and economy, achieve sustainable development."
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WHILE FRANCE, GREECE, IRELAND, ETC, STRUGGLE TO STOP THE PENSION AGE RISING HIGHER AND HIGHER...
An online survey on qq.com, a popular Chinese news portal, finds that 91% of its over 800,000 respondents, are against raising the current official Chinese retirement age.
745,123 of those surveyed say they oppose raising retirement ages -- 72,456 support it.
China's scholars & the public have been debating whether to raise the retirement age, for the past few years, but the issue rose to prominence after remarks by an official.
Wang Xiaochu, the official vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security, said at a press conference that the government was "studying the matter"...
The retirement age in China is generally set at 60 for men and 50-55 for women.
Wow! Bet you didn't know that !!!
FARMING AND SCIENCE COULD REGENERATE WALES
A new UN General Assembly report warns "vast areas" of cultivated land are lost each year, and that this could lead to unrest.
The report says up to 30 million hectares, an area the size of Italy, is lost each year to environmental degradation, industry & urbanization - the growth of cities - and all because of speculative building and greed.
The UN special rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, gives the example of eastern Africa, where the amount of cultivated land has declined by half --- in just one generation! "
As rural populations grow and competition with large industrial units increases, plots cultivated by smallholders are shrinking year after year," says De Schutter.
"Farmers are often relegated to soils that are arid, hilly or without irrigation."
The UN officer also mentions India as another example, where the average landholding fell from 2.6 hectares in 1960 to 1.4 hectares in 2000. A cut of nearly half in 40 years!
He says 500 million small farmers suffer from hunger, partly because their right to land is being violated. The expert warns of the devastating consequences, as foreign investors compete for larger and larger areas of the world's land for "their" agriculture.
Rhondda Records says Wales could rebuild its new economy by basing it on a fresh approach to high-value added products, using science and agriculture... such as the Altzeim project in Gwent.
