... thoughts

Salmond defends the indefensible ...

2012-01-29T13:51:00.000Z

... when he suggests the UK would be maintained "after a fashion" .... "after separation".

The clown prince of politics said ...

"It is SNP policy to have the Queen as our head of state. That union, that United Kingdom if you like, would be maintained after Scottish political independence. I think that's a real stumbling block about putting forward a question of the United Kingdom."

There is no stumbling block, the Queen might chose to go with Scotland, there is no way this political poltroon can drag the Queen into his nightmarish world, she belongs elsewhere.

Asked if that meant Scotland could still be regarded as being in the UK after independence, Mr Salmond said:

"I don't think it's a very good idea to confuse the issue by talking about united kingdoms when what we're talking about is political independence."

There is no difference between his "political independence" and "separation", it is a clean break, no picking and choosing. I think the clown prince is very confused, he seems to think the constitutional future of Britain rest with him and the remainder of the SNP circus, there is much more to Britain than this particular jock in a frock.

She's moving if the SNP win the ...

2012-01-29T09:03:00.000Z

... referendum, the first of many !!!!!!!

MICHELLE MONE, one of Britain’s most successful women entrepreneurs, says she will move her lingerie empire from Scotland to England if the Scottish National party wins a referendum on independence.

The creator of the Ultimo underwear range is the first prominent Scottish business figure to announce plans to leave an independent Scotland which, she believes, would be unable to sustain itself without higher business taxes and a rising cost of living.

Mone, whose Glasgow-based company, MJM International, had a turnover of £42m last year, said independence would make her the “saddest woman ever” and claimed to know of several other high-profile entrepreneurs who would follow her lead if Scotland broke away.

“I am so passionate for Scotland but I have to say that if we do become independent, I will move. I will move my business and I will move personally . . . I love Scotland but, under independence, I would have no choice.”

She added: “I don’t think we can survive on our own and I think it would be really bad for business.”

Mone, 40 — whose push-up bras were worn by Julia Roberts in the film Erin Brockovich and who has modelled her own lingerie — also took a swipe at members of the Scottish parliament.

“Would you trust them to run Scotland as a business? No, is the answer . . . Why would you trust these guys, all they do is fight in parliament with their big egos. I would never trust any of them. It’s too much of a gamble,” she said.

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, warns the public, English and Welsh taxpayers would have to bail out an independent Scotland if it went bust. He said that if Scotland maintained monetary union with the rest of Britain, the Bank of England could end up acting as its lender of last resort.

Sunday Times 29 Jan 2012.

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,

2012-01-25T08:58:00.000Z

O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee
Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
What makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell -
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me;
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects dreaer!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

... this Burns night.

Welfare, the reality that the ...

2012-01-24T06:48:00.000Z

... Bishop's of the 21^stcentury seem to be out of step with.

Placing a cap on benefits is not a repudiation of the founding principles of the
welfare state. The purpose of support is to foster independence

When William Beveridge wrote his famous report of 1942 that set the blueprint for what later became known as the welfare state, his founding idea was helping people back towards independence. The safety that public assistance would provide was a reward for contribution and Beveridge always envisaged welfare payments as a way of smoothing income through difficult times.

Some of the Liberal Beveridge’s modern successors, led in the House of Lords by Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-hamdon and Lord Avebury, are opposing the proposal by Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, to place an annual cap of £26,000 on the receipt of benefit payments. There were two important principles embedded into the Beveridge settlement: that there should be some link between what you put in and what you get out; and that welfare assistance should be a temporary expedient, actively designed to help people back into work, which ought to pay better than unemployment.

It is surely no part of the original prospectus for welfare that some families should be able to draw a household income that amounts to a salary of £35,000 before tax. To declare a limit at or about this level is an important statement of intent and an important marker about the virtue that this society values, namely work. Mr Duncan Smith has conceded that some families may have to move into smaller houses and that some children may have to share bedrooms as a result. But, at an annual income of £26,000, these families are not among the poor and local authorities will retain the obligation to house those people who struggle to find accommodation in the rental market.

None of which is to say that there are no issues that need to be addressed. A coherent system would punish feckless parents but not their unfortunate children. There will be cases of people who lose their jobs and find that the commitments entered into in more prosperous times suddenly take them over the benefit limit. Effective transition arrangements will be necessary.

There is no doubt that, in the absence of a serious strategy for regional pay, this will be more difficult to implement in London and the South East. The majority of the 67,000 unemployed families who will be affected by the imposition of a cap at £26,000 live in this region, where property prices are high. There is an issue here that is bigger than just the excessive payment of benefits. There will always be a problem with the welfare bill climbing — especially the bill for housing benefit — when the cost of housing is so high.

This structural cause needs to be addressed alongside the consequences. Unless and until the Government finds a coherent strategy to allow all regions of the country to grow — which includes pressing on with the liberalisation of the planning laws to allow the building of more houses — the cost of housing will continue to be visited on taxpayers in the form of higher welfare payments.

If the opponents of the cap were making these arguments about how the failures of the nation turn up in the welfare bill then they might carry more weight. As it is, they are simply a plea to retain a welfare system which has long since slipped clear of the intentions of its founders.

The Church of England bishops, in particular, have managed to avoid both economic reality and popular opinion at the same time. When they call on the Treasury to make a moral call they might reflect that it is also incumbent on them to make a serious economic argument. At a time of severe pressure on the public finances, the country is not engaged in a morality play but, even if it were, the bishops have got the morality call wrong.

A welfare state that works is one that encourages independence. That was Beveridge’s insight and a test that the welfare state now fails.

The Times 24^th January 2012.

Plaid Cymru, whither or wither, ...

2012-01-23T10:18:00.000Z

... Whither will they wander with Wood far to the socialist left, or Wither with Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas much as a grape becomes shriveled, shrunken, or faded from loss of moisture, a sultana, an important ingredient; the choice for the members who will vote very soon for Plaid's leadership.

To understand the "Left of Lenin" support for Wood you need go no further than the blog of MH, his is the fertile ground for the disaffected of Wales, those unable to understand how the real world works, to whom the grass is always greener, should that be redder, on the other side of the British fence.

Flipping the coin produces the day of night and day, a person who sits firmly in the centre of political Wales, unfortunately his is at the time of life that produces the withered look, but fortunately for the membership of Plaid he offers a certain hope for the future, the cake yet to be baked despite the time it has been in the mixing bowl.

Add a little brandy, let it mature just a little while longer, Plaid not the person, this is where the future of Plaid the Party of Wales rests, not the far left lunacy of the young turks who have no memories of Socialist Europe, but as part of ............ dare I say Britain.

I considered using the expression "fruit cake" when describing the sultana and Dafydd, but the alternative meaning belongs with the supporters of Wood, the MH brigade ............ mad, strange, insane, or very silly.

Salmond needs to understand that we ...

2012-01-22T18:10:00.000Z

... want British democracy to catch up with Scotland, so Devo-Max is not on the cards, all his bluster should be seen as it is, the nationalist bully boy tactics reminiscent of the playground that is his Holyrood.

Salmond is taking his campaign to end the 300-year-old union with England to London. When he delivers the Hugo Young lecture, Salmond will seek to build support for separation by claiming it would end the dispute over whether England subsidises Scotland and would also solve the West Lothian question, in which Scottish MPS at Westminster can vote on laws that apply only to England but not vice-versa. (Sunday Times 22 January 2012)

... he will argue that ending those squabbles would see England "lose a surly lodger and gain a friendly neighbour", he is wrong on two counts, it is Britain not just England, and we would lose the distraction that Scots generate and gain a bonus of £1600 per Scot that is given by Westminster annually.

The Salmond and company consultation paper will make clear that he intends to include the “devo max” option in the forthcoming referendum, giving the Scottish parliament more power were the Scots to not vote for separation, unfortunately its not his to give, it is for everyone in Britain to agree, "devo max" is for Westminster and the whole British electorate not Holyrood in pugnacious isolation.

Of course he will return to Scotland whining that the "English" are opposing "the will of the Scots people", not so Salmond, it is the will of the British peoples; we really have had enough SNP tripe, Salmond can take his galloping self-importance back to Holyrood, I'm sure he has sufficient fans to stoke or stroke his ego.

As INDIA KNIGHT (india.knight@sunday-times.co.uk) wrote, quoting Burns Tam o' Shanter ...

...

Where sits our sulky sullen dame.

Gathering her brows like gathering storm

Nursing her wrath to keep it warm

... which in turn reminds me of Alex Salmond, but let’s not go there, It’s a chronic social disadvantage.

I guess Vodafone is amongst the robber ...

2012-01-22T13:18:00.000Z

... baron companies of the world that steal taxes from countries in which they operate.

Nicholas Shaxson in his "Treasure Islands" (£8.99 from Amazon), subtitled "Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World", explains what is wrong with global finance ...

... he write, while many might dismiss tax havens as offshore homes for spivs, money-launderers and the odd celebrity, in fact they help big companies and the super-rich to avoid paying tax, tax that totals "$1000 billion" each year.

... that's a trillion dollars, a trillion dollars unspent in the countries that the wealth is created, a trillion dollars that should be underpinning the health and welfare of the little people who have no voice in this unjust world.

Update on my entry for yesterday ...

The dispute has severely dented India’s reputation as a safe place for foreign companies to do business. Many are facing similar tax cases that could be affected by the judgment, including Cadbury, GE, Vedanta, AT&T, Sanofi-Aventis and SABMiller. The companies declined to comment on the decision, although one representative said: "Clearly, it does provide some encouragement."

... recognise the household names that are siphoning off the taxes from India through the use of offshore tax havens or countries that give advantage to business.

Time to create a level playing field that includes "justice" in the rules of the game.

The bullshit that is both India and Vodafone, and ...

2012-01-21T15:53:00.000Z

... throughout the world.

The narrative, courtesy The Times 21 Jan 2012, there is more if you pay the tariff £ .....

It has taken four years of fighting but last night Vodafone was celebrating a landmark legal victory after the Indian Supreme Court ruled that it would not have to pay a £3.1 billion tax bill.

The ruling centred on Vodafone’s £7.1 billion acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s majority stake in Hutchison Essar in 2007 and was declared a “thumping judgment” by Harish Salve, the company’s lawyer. It is expected to open up the region to more foreign investment.

The Indian Government had claimed that it was owed tax because the assets bought had been bought in India. Vodafone argued that both the buyer and seller were based overseas and the deal had been conducted via offshore holding companies. It also said that, since it was the buyer of the asset, it should not be liable for a tax on the profits from the sale.

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that “Indian tax authorities had no jurisdiction to tax Vodafone”.

The Supreme Court of India is of course a Logical Ass.

My reasoning relates not to ownership, but to location, if a business is located in Delhi, then the business as an asset should be taxed in Delhi, without exception.

This type of nonsense occurs in the UK, an offshore company owns assets and pays little or no tax because of domicile. If politicians were not spineless creatures, there would be an alternative Davos where such practices would be by common agreement outlawed throughout the world, there is no logic in failing to tax a process other than where the process happens. If you sell it here you pay the taxes here ...... simple.

If companies are able to avoid paying taxes to the country it creates its wealth, then the politics of that country is probably corrupt, if the politics is suspect might not its Supreme Court be also suspect, there is an enormous smell wafting from the East. But it is not just from the East that smells waft, our very own tax collectors let the very same Vodafone off the hook to the tune of a £6bn tax bill, we need to remember the efforts our very own HMRC are using to claw back taxes from the little people of Britain.

Update ........ Britain’s balance is shifting towards ....

2012-01-20T10:26:00.004Z

... the South and East. The City now gets what it wants, or Stay or go, Scotland’s power is on the wane ... thus wrote William Rees-mogg (The Times 20 Jan 2012), read it in full here £.

For those without a subscription, the former Editor of The Times (1967 to 1981) sums up by writing :

Power in Britain is moving south and east, not north and west. The independence of Scotland is a secondary element in a shift that is already under way. One should not mention it, but the embarrassing fact is that Boris, rather than Alex, is the future. As far as the English are concerned, Scotland is a country that is completely free to make its own choice between independence or sticking with the good old UK. Power is going to London, which makes the money, not to Scotland, which spends it.

........... no doubt he thinks the same of Wales, should we be telling our children to follow Dick Whittington and go east to London town in search of a future ?

Update Groundskeeper Willie wrote in response to a Scottish blog conversation ...

January 2012 19:28 EyeEdinburgh said ... 'a referendum that has a clear democratic mandate.' The turnout was 50%. Of that 45% voted SNP. The SNP manifesto didn't mention a two question referendu. It didn't mention changing the voting rules to include 16 and 17 year olds. The SNP's mandate, such as it is, is to have a one question referendum, for adults. No one would object to that. No one other than the SNP. They know they would lose such a referendum and Salmond knows he'll be left high and dry, like a beached whale, with no hope of seeing independence in his lifetime.

Interesting times we live in ............

Salmond 1 - Democracy Zero, and all ...

2012-01-20T05:29:00.001Z

... because ...

Salmond, aka Scotland's Governor General, "has said the SNP government in Edinburgh does not need legal authority to proceed", proceed with a referendum.

Is he right ?

Of course not, no national or regional government is above the law, even where it makes the law, and the law says "constitutional matters" are reserved to Westminster. But being wrong is trumped each time in Salmonds' game of chance when he plays the "Scotland the Brave" wildcard.

The answer to our Scottish poltroon is difficult yet simple, it is to give the Scots no alternative, Westminster should announce "severance talks this summer following the Olympic Games in London", bypass the referendum, explain to the Scots that there are far more important issues than the politics of "Nationalist Scotland".

And the logic, if Salmond fails to get his perverse way he will continue to trump the politics of the Union with "Scotland the Brave", but without the rule of law Democracy has lost, Westminster must let its partner go, there is no logical answer to a trump card. Britain, get used to the name, cannot afford the distraction that Salmond and Co. brings to the table.

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland ...

2012-01-18T10:43:00.000Z

.... Margaret Curran, said she believed it was not right to create "second-class MPs" based on "which part of the UK they come from, or because they come from Scotland".

She added: "To understand this issue properly, we need to understand the nature of devolution"

"Every person elected to the House of Commons has a responsibility not just to their constituents, but to the UK as a whole"

"That is a fundamental principle of devolution that decisions are taken in the right places to reflect our different nations that make up the UK, but that our House of Commons operates together as a country. It strengthens Scotland and I think it strengthens the whole UK."

Would the SoS expect the SNP to do anything other than exclude the UK from its thoughts, I don't ...

Salmond, her part in his ...

2012-01-17T10:01:00.000Z

... downfall.

... or "Wee Eck" gets his knickers in a twist..........

If ... I don't think so Carwyn, it is ...

2012-01-16T09:31:00.000Z

... a done deal. The "if", well it is the if in ...

".... if Scotland became independent, the relationship between Wales and the rest of the UK would have to change ..."

... where he was speaking on the Sunday Politics programme.

The done deal is of course the "referendum", the outcome is particularly irrelevant, the very fact that "Politics Scotland" has begun the process of divorce, makes it imperative the other partners in this seemingly unhappy marriage begin an urgent process to rearrange the marriage (constitution) to produce a fair world that everyone can sit at ease with each other.

Assume the worse, a reconciliation shouldn't effect the need for change, if Scotland decided not not move on their legacy should be a fair constitution for the majority.

If Carwyn is the statesman he likes to project, he might call a constitutional convention with the other parties, not as an antagonist, but as a bridge builder, and top of his list of objectives would be to gain a sense of worth for the element without a devolved administration, England is as important as the other parts of our Britain.

Myself, I will still keep the party hats ready for the big day .............

Mad Max or Devo Max, both ...

2012-01-15T15:39:00.000Z

... as ridiculous as the other, Mad Max depicts a post-apocalyptic world, whilst Devo Max is the preferred method to sunder Britain (difficult to use the term UK) into its component parts.

Whist I sit comfortably with the 61% who support a referendum for separation, ...

... I certainly do not support giving the separatists a win-win referendum.

"Devo Max" is in fact separation without the pain of responsibility, it ...

... would spare Scotland the constitutional wrangling and guarantee it British protection, yet give it the right to tax and spend as it saw fit. Although much would be down to negotiation, a practical guide issued by the SNP almost presents Devo Max as a feast where Scotland gets all the treats, leaving England and Co. with the leftovers.

The referendum in itself, whether the Scots drift off or remain, will cause a re-writing of Britain and its constitution, no longer will any section of society be prepared for treatment as anything other than equal, whether Bradford, Belfast, Bridgend (or Bishopbriggs possibly) Salmond has, unwittingly or otherwise, opened a constitutional Pandora's box from which there can be no going back.

I doubt if the electorate will tolerate in the future, one section of society having a larger share of the cake (on average) than anyone else. Mutterings of the unequal treatment of students across mystical boundaries is a recent manifestation of discontent, (not so) free prescriptions are another bone of contention, and both cases are relevant and in urgent need of redressing, these are the indicators of a stressed society.

Now is the time to cut across sensibilities and cut the devolved budgets to equality, there is little to lose, Scots are on their way, next year or in a decade is not overly important, Wales and NI need to wake up and put their houses in order, now is the time to slash Barnett and replace it with the reality of equality rather than the mythical needs of political spending, there is little to lose, and to everything to gain.

As Hemingway wrote, "It takes more cojones, to be a sportsman where death is a closer party to the game." Here we stand on the threshold of the death of country, are there representatives with the metaphorical cojones at Westminster to finish the game so eloquently started by Salmond ..............

Tory boost when Salmond takes the high road ...

2012-01-15T11:40:00.000Z

... to the promised land, we hope that like Moses (Moshe Rabbeinu) he has divine assistance; unlike the Pharaoh who was beset by plagues.

Giving Scotland its independence and scrapping the 59 MPS it currently sends to Westminster would transform the present government from a coalition to a Tory one.

In the 2010 election the Conservatives won 306 seats, including one in Scotland. The other parties combined won 344 seats, including 58 in Scotland. So without Scotland, the Tories would have had 305 seats and all other parties 286 — giving the Tories an outright majority of 19, according to Anthony Wells of Yougov, the polling firm.

In numbers of votes, the Tories dominate in England, while Labour dominates in Scotland. So independence ought to benefit the Tories, as will boundary changes. However, thanks to the constituency system, Labour could still win in England.

In the 2005 election Labour won 356 seats, with 41 in Scotland (including the then Speaker). The other parties combined won 290 seats, including 18 in Scotland. So without Scotland, Labour would have had 315 seats and all other parties 272 — still leaving Labour with a majority of 43.

Labour would also have won outright in 2001, 1997, 1950 and 1945, even if Scotland had been independent.

Sunday Times 15 Jan 2012

If only they had gone earlier, would we have been beset by our very own plague of Scots politicians, politicians who caused so much mayhem this past decade.

The views of the peoples of Britain are interesting ...

... is this the Salmond effect .... by Salmond design.

Maybe it is time that Salmond explained in simple terms exactly what would be achieved through "separation", and the status quo might explain in similar terms what exactly are the benefits to remaining "as is", other than hot air from both sides there has been little of consequence made public.

Is independence for Scotland a question just for Scotland, or ...

2012-01-14T16:52:00.001Z

... should the question be put first to all the peoples of the UK, thus asked Matthew Parris in today's Times.

"Scottish independence would create two new countries. The whole of the UK must be consulted before it happens."

... he continued:

Iam a citizen of a country called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, whose borders and territorial waters answer that geographical description. This United Kingdom — not England, but the Union of which England is a part — is where I vote. This United Kingdom’s Armed Forces are recruited from all parts of the Union and defend all its borders. This United Kingdom decides and raises taxes across the whole country, and disburses them for all parts of the country. I vote in elections for the administration that determines all these policies — the British Government at Westminster.
It’s our country. In an important sense, we run it.
And now some people are proposing that the union that created it should end, and our country split.

... and more:

“Split” is the word. This is not an amputation: lopping off an extremity and tossing it into the North Sea. Scotland wouldn’t be “going” — going anywhere — but staying put, reconstituted as a new state. England, Wales and Northern Ireland will no more be divesting themselves of Scotland than Scotland would be divesting itself of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This would be a proper divorce, not an offspring leaving home. There would have to be a tussle about possessions.

For we — the other parts of the UK — would become a new state too. With Scotland gone, the phrase “United Kingdom”, the whole concept, takes on a new meaning: not just for England but for Wales and Northern Ireland

This idea of Matthew is important, because it signals to everyone in the UK that the time has come for a conversation that determines where we will be when our children become adults. It is not a question that would deny the Scots an opportunity to create a separate state, we are democratic after-all, not some single party state that suppresses freedom of expression. Such a conversation is in danger of suppression by the proponents of separation who label it "scaremongering tactics". I for one want to know exactly what will be the effect of separation, as I am sure, do many others in these sceptred isles. Amongst the constituent parts of the UK there is only a very small minority that look constantly for the greener grass of post independence, today the door is opening for a realistic view of this in a way that everyone can understand. The four areas I am interested in gaining an insight are ......

Currency, how can Scotland consider remaining with Sterling with policy affecting it being set by others.
Armed forces, would we extend the policy that allows certain foreign people serving in our various arms, how soon before we relocate southwards our submarine forces.
Our BBC, much despised by nationalist commentators north of the border would be divided, but how is talent divided.
The EU, might take the opportunity to divest itself of these turbulent isles, forcing the new countries to re-apply, an opportunity the French might relish.

In conclusion Matthew wrote ...

So ask us all and, if we all agree, then ask Scotland. And before Scotland is asked, take time to give the Scots clarity on what is being proposed. Saltires and bagpipes, Union Flags and British bulldogs, are not enough.

A comment left at the Times ...

Michael in France
January 14, 2012 12:51 PM
Excellent summary Matthew. Of course we are all part of that Union and anyone's departure clearly affects us all. We should all have a voice
As for San Toi's egotistical "on behalf of the Scots - "It's not yours - it's us." How then would he respond if the rest of the UK (90 odd percent) were indeed to hold such a referendum and decided we wanted no more of Scotland?
As an Irishman, who has spent most of his life in England, now in France, I have always found the English tolerant, civilised and welcoming.
But I and most of the people I know are fed up to the back teeth with this perpetual Scottish whinging

Interesting times, interesting ideas ........ myself, I'm planning the farewell party !

NHS will pay for ...

2012-01-08T16:51:00.000Z

... implant removal, but not an appointment by a diabetic to gain much needed advice from a dietician.

And the reason given, budgetary constraints, not a word of a lie !

And the single most important life skill for a diabetic .................... diet.

A Wales NHS decision, thanks Carwyn and chums ............

I feel a little like the man who went to market ............

.......... he took a cow to return home with a chicken.

The word Carwyn Jones is cheated, but you have your priorities !

Thank the Lord for Blaidd, who ...

2012-01-06T10:58:00.000Z

... wrote at WalesHome :

January 6, 2012 at 9:45 am
Of course Welsh speakers are more culturally Welsh than non-Welsh speakers. Most people have a mental map of unique ‘Welshness’ that goes something like this…
Welsh-speaking > Valleys > Swansea > Cardiff/Barry/Newport > Marches

His is a view skewed ......... to read the Plaid-centric (Adam Price) debate leap here ........

Myself I wonder how "culturally Welsh" should be defined, in fact, in the 21st century is there a "culturally Welsh" identity that stands out and above those other cultural definitions, myself I doubt it, in the grey homogeneous world we live in culture can spiral between Holywood, the ubiquitous X-Box and Albert square, it is probably the reason why Plaid have failed miserably in political Wales, cultural nationalism in our green and pleasant land would need to be a multi-faceted gem, with one facet for each person on the electoral role ...........

A resolution, when a knock ...

2012-01-01T08:07:00.000Z

... on the door reveals a Plaid type asking for your vote, ask the question ...

If you were successful in your quest for an independent Wales, what would be your manifesto at the post independence election for the future of Wales.

... you will be still waiting, I am following last years elections.

Dafydd, Dafydd, Dafydd, sometimes ...

2011-12-31T15:43:00.001Z

... I wonder if you have been at the sauce ...

... with your outrageous uttering, to wit ...

WalesOnline today the last day of 2011, where you call for the scrapping of the position as Welsh Secretary to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Now, contrary to the agenda of Plaid and pals, there are those of us who quite like the companionship of Westminster, particularly as we live in a political world (Wales) that would if left to its own devices, send us reeling into a left wing nightmare that we can read of through the immortal words of George.

Does Cheryl Gillan (CG) pull any levers of government West of Offa's Dyke ? Does she exercise any real influence at No 10 ? .......... who knows, and in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter. What matters in the real world is our government at Westminster has an office with its fingers on the pulse of "Political Cardiff", and it's very obvious this is the case with CG's recent remonstrations with Carwyn Jones.

And why should Westminster keep its fingers on the pulse of political Wales, well, as Margaret Thatcher discovered to her cost, that had she known earlier, much earlier, nationalism in Wales would have been neutered at birth not nurtured through political ineptitude throughout its infancy. And that must be the SoS's primary task, to do to the political elite of Wales what the little people are prevented, to criticise and raise very real fears loudly and publicly, to be our lightning rod for the excesses of our regional government, this cracach that yearns for greatness ...

... and there you have it Dafydd, although you politicians might think you have everything sewn up, the others who have very few voices, have Westminster as a last resort. We have in Wales several modern day "Le Chat Botté", those who use political trickery and deceit to gain a level of power and influence unparalleled in modern Wales ...............

................ in government and out. Then there is Cheryl Gillan to speak out as she has ... but does she speak for us, the new year will tell.

On the home front, there is a battle yet to be engaged, it is with the nationalist who wish for the hand of the princess that is called Wales (in a marriage), they wish to become its worthless master with its head fully engaged in anything that is not Britain.

Message to friends and foe ...
Wikipedia have a fund raising effort, follow one of the links and maybe leave a donation, I have, if only half my visitors contributed £10, then there would be £100,000 for probably the best source of information freely available on the internet, be generous this new year.

Star gazers note Jupiter ...

2011-12-27T11:19:00.000Z

... , the Bringer of Jollity is setting in the west, whilst in the east Mars, the Bringer of War, is rising, closer to home Syniadau compares Slovenia with Wales in an attempt to convince the Plaid converted that Wales could go it alone.

MH of Syniadau, the "Bringer of Stupidity", wrote "Those who argue against independence for Wales say that we can't afford it.".

Wrong, those who say no to Plaid, that's more than 9 out of every 10 people, say no because we are not interested in what is on offer; from wannabe Plaid leader Wood it is a return to 1940's socialism, from the other 3 it is "much ado about nothing"; the argument might better said "Wales cannot afford Plaid" or "Wales doesn't share your views".

Peter Black wrote yesterday of Plaid navel gazing, he might like to lookup Slovenia, in amongst the current depression found within its borders there is a major success, it is with education, Slovenia has 99.6 per cent literacy and the Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovenia's education as the 12th best in the world and 4th best in the European Union, being significantly higher than the OECD average, significantly higher than we achieve in Wales.

Something to work at Mr. Black, and your chums.

In the begining was the word, and the word has been added too ...

2011-12-25T20:13:00.001Z

... by many, including Greg Ip ...

... and he has a few nuggets that Plaid leadership wannabe Leanne Wood might like to consider, particularly after her latest bowl of nationalist tripe; although many identify her words with Anarcho-syndicalism it is still categorised as "tripe".

Jobs, jobs, jobs ... she writes, read it and weep, literary devices to appeal to her left of left support within Plaid. Unfortunately for the electorate of Rhondda Cynon Taff she demonstrates such a poor understanding of basic economics we should collectively wonder at her suitability to contribute in any form to the governance of Wales.

Greg writes of the bottom line ............

Long-term economic growth depends on population and productivity, the more productive the population is, the better the standards of living that can be expected. It requires Investment in capital and ideas to raise the productivity.
Ideas enable the re-combination of workers and capital in new ways to create new products or old products at a lower price. Competition forces the copying of ideas and the creation of new ideas.
Investment and ideas must be nurtured. We require honest government and trustworthy laws to encourage investors and innovators to take risks. Investment in education enables the working population to participate and free markets ensure that dying, unproductive industries are culled in order that growing industries can attract both capital and workers.

... so read again Woods' "Jobs, jobs, jobs" and search for the real world, it just isn't there ...........

... myself, I hope Plaid elect her, it will get exactly what it deserves ....

... but for the electorate, you deserve better ..............

When I mistakenly trip over the tripe of nationalist Wales ...

2011-12-21T10:28:00.000Z

... I remember "Hope" by Emily Dickinson ....

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

A sense of purpose, ...

2011-12-20T08:49:00.000Z

... where quality might be measured in a meaningful way ...

... it could be Heathrow airport, a country within a country, people working together with two simple aims, to launch people into the air and to catch them on their return.

... it might be a British rail company, again a country within a country, a very similar activity to an airport where people are sent along steel tracks to destinations throughout the United Kingdom, very often these same people are welcomed back to their point of departure on the same day.

... our power generation companies are a little different in that they deliver their goods directly to your door with little contact, we even trust these companies to dip into our bank accounts and take funds to meet our consumption.

... the supermarket chains set up shop throughout the country, they construct huge warehouses that welcome goods from all over the world, delivered on time directed by an army of buyers concious of our preferences.

... and these activities are duplicated by the thousands, located throughout the country, and in each case the survival of these businesses are dependent upon the customers who vote directly in real time through their purchases, the measure of quality ...

... or is it !

From the desk of Larry Edelson ...

2011-12-11T15:51:00.000Z

... "It’s the hidden dangers that matter most" ...

No matter what scheme Europe’s leaders come up with this weekend, the euro is toast. It was destined to fail right from the beginning.
You see, way back in 1998, I told everyone who would listen that Europe’s attempt at a single currency would fail. I even pegged the year 2012 as the period when the euro would breathe its final breath.
The problem is simply this: The euro was ill-conceived to begin with. The European Union left all the national banks in place, like central banks. They left all the individual countries’ debts in place and failed to create any semblance of a fiscal unity.

Further, they failed to reform tax and labor laws, leaving a hodgepodge of rules and regulations in place, none of which supported any foundation for a single currency.

Perhaps worst of all, they failed to recognize the many different cultures in Europe, not to mention the 28 different official languages spoken.

In short, Europe’s leaders created a disaster, and now the world is paying the price.

The latest proposal, if enacted this weekend, will make matters worse for the euro. Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy are pushing hard to rewrite the European Union’s main treaty to give it power over the national budgets of the Union’s members.

That simply will not work. It amounts to asking countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Ireland — to give up their sovereignty and place their destinies in the hands of the stronger countries in Europe, namely Germany and France. Fat chance of that going well.

The truth of the matter is
that as ill as Europe’s currency is,
the U.S. dollar isn’t faring much better either.

For one thing, the U.S. dollar is also riddled with unpayable sovereign debts and obligations to the tune of $145 trillion. That’s 25 times worse than the combined debts of all European Union member countries.

For another, our fearless leaders in Washington know full well that our debts are patently unpayable.
That’s why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke never hesitates when it comes to printing up more money. He knows that the only possible way out is to inflate away the debts, by devaluing the dollar and paying off the debts down the road with cheaper dollars.

It’s also why I believe President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner are lying to you.

I know, that’s a bold statement. But they’re not idiots. They are steeped in the history of currency devaluations. And they too know that the only chance the United States has to potentially defuse the ticking U.S. debt bomb is to shift the blame to China by accusing Beijing of maintaining policies that support an undervalued yuan.

But that’s nothing but political cover for what President Obama and Secretary Geithner really want because ...

A rise in the value of the yuan, by default,
means a decline in the value of the dollar.

I know it’s hard to believe that Washington is selling you out. I know it’s hard to believe that I’m forecasting further dollar devaluations when hardly anyone else is and when nearly all eyes are glued to Europe and its implosion.

But I’ve never let that stop me. I always tell it like I see it. And I learned long ago that it’s not the obvious that matters most when it comes to your investments — like Europe disintegrating.

Quite the contrary, it’s the unobvious that matters most. It’s the hidden dangers that can wreak the most havoc on your wealth.

Earlier this week, I showed you a chart of the U.S. Dollar Index and how miserable the dollar’s performance is. I will show it again for a third time and please, study it carefully.

Despite all the talk about the U.S. dollar benefitting from the European debt crisis, the Dollar Index remains well below important resistance on this chart. You can clearly see it.

I suggest you print it out and keep it handy. Because when the Dollar Index breaks the low point on the right side of the chart, it may be too late to fully protect your wealth.

Don’t wait until that happens. Take the necessary steps to protect and grow your wealth NOW, before it’s too late.

One of those steps should be viewing my video on the looming dollar disaster. It’s well worth your time. By watching it in its entirety (only about 35 minutes), you’ll be able to download six free profit guides that I’ve designed to help you protect your wealth.

You can view the video now by clicking here.

Best wishes,
Larry Edelson

Mr. Edelson has an agenda, he wishes to sell his services, but the message of fear ..... how much is truth ?

Perhaps, ...

2011-12-04T14:21:00.000Z

Professor Sir Mansel Aylward said on today's BBC Wales Politics Show ...

"We're not going to get many more chances - in the past we had plenty of money and perhaps we spent it wrongly,"

If the NHS in Wales were a work of art, aesthetics might conclude it not worthy to be viewed in the worlds top galleries, The Louvre would say 'non' and The Deutsche Guggenheim might cry "nien"; whilst in Wales the public it should be serving is reticent in its public condemnation, and our political representatives are lounging at the Cardiff Bay club for useless rhetoric, oblivious to the reality of the situation.

Might we apply a criteria to politics as we do with a painting, could we call for quality ............

A lesson for the NHS Wales ...

2011-12-02T09:11:00.000Z

... that might help budget deliberations !

The Great Soprendo might be able to produce "medicated smoke and mirrors", though I'm guessing better financial management might be the ticket.

It's a shame that politics in Wales has closed its eyes to private participation in the delivery of health services, pathetic in many ways.......

No discrimination in Caerphilly ...

2011-11-29T12:30:00.000Z

... an update, the timely response from Cllr. Fussell.

Hello Mr Tyler,

The Apprenticeship and Trainee (A&T) scheme has been designed to attract any local individual who may be currently going through or completed education or further education. The council has linked with training partners and government agencies to support the delivery of the schemes and these include Active Pathways, Job Centre plus, Princes Trust, Stepping Stones 14 to 19 Unit, ACT, ITEC, College Ystrad Mynach, Educ8 and a few more.

In its delivery the council have taken on board apprentice posts within its own services and these posts allow the individual to continue to progress their education via college , university. In addition some graduate posts have also been created in specific council areas.

It's accepted that the partners for the A&T scheme are local educational and training establishments and that most applicants will be from the immediate Caerffili County, however this may not always be the case and its not a deciding factor when going through the application process.

I hope that I have answered your question in as much that we source apprentices and trainees from a wide pool of establishments who deliver a service to people who may live in Caerffili, but not necessarily so.

Regards
James Fussell

Cabinet Member for Human Resources
(Ward Member for St Martins)

No discrimination in Caerphilly then ....

... but in the less than civilised areas a different tale !

Discrimination in Caerphilly ...

2011-11-29T09:20:00.001Z

... by the Plaid administration, the tip of an iceberg or isolated case.

Naturally I have asked Cllr Fussell the question ...

Could you define your expression “local people” in the context of the article.

I wonder how non-local people are disbarred from the opportunities, might it be place of birth or could it be related to where a person has lived during the previous decade ?

There are other movements in Wales using petitioning to gain legal discrimination to prevent "non-local people" being given social housing, with Caerphilly leading the way where will it end ...

... is my daughter a non-local, she was born in England, my wife has only lived in Wales for ten years, is that sufficient qualification to become "local" ............

Kant wrote in his ...

2011-11-28T10:33:00.000Z

... famous essay on "Perpetual Peace":

"Many say a republic would have to be a nation of angels, because men with their selfish inclinations are not capable of a constitution of such sublime form. But precisely with these inclinations nature comes to the aid of the general will established on reason, which is revered even though impotent in practice. Thus it is only a question of a good organization of the state (which does lie in man's power), whereby the powers of each selfish inclination are so arranged in opposition that one moderates or destroys the ruinous effect of the other. The consequence for reason is the same as if none of them existed, and man is forced to be a good citizen even if not a morally good person.

The problem of organizing a state, however hard it may seem, can be solved even for a race of devils, if only they are intelligent. The problem is: 'Given a multitude of rational beings requiring universal laws for their preservation, but each of whom is secretly inclined to exempt himself from them, to establish a constitution in such a way that, although their private intentions conflict, they check each other, with the result that their public conduct is the same as if they had no such intentions.'

A problem like this must be capable of solution; it does not require that we know how to attain the moral improvement of men but only that we should know the mechanism of nature in order to use it on men, organizing the conflict of the hostile intentions present in a people in such a way that they must compel themselves to submit to coercive laws. Thus a state of peace is established in which laws have force."

... but is his observations of a Europe seemingly in perpetual warfare relevant today, in Britain, in Wales ?

To reform or not reform, that ...

2011-11-22T09:33:00.000Z

... is a question for the people.

The referendum of 5th May this year asked the public whether they wished to keep the first-past-the-post system for Westminster elections or switch to the alternative vote (AV), the reply from the electorate to our politicians was a 2 to 1 in favour of the current "First Past the Post" system, an unambiguous rejection of change; in Wales the national vote rejected the proposed change by a margin that matched very closely the national vote.

So when an anonymous Labour Party spokesman (Wales) says:

"... our position is crystal clear - the Tories in Westminster have no mandate for changing the electoral system in Wales".

... they are utterly wrong, the referendum gave Westminster a mandate. Of the 440 voting areas across the country, the Yes votes supporting change made up the majority in only 10 areas. The 10 areas are: Cambridge, Camden, Edinburgh Central, Glasgow Kelvin, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Oxford, Southwark; I don't see a Wales constituency in the list.

So why are Carwyn and chums so afraid of a change that would revert to the peoples preference, it is must be because they are afraid the "also ran" parties, including my Tory preference, who would be put out into the cold by the electorate. It's obvious that publically they must be seen to oppose the proposed change because the buffoons and poltroons of politics, and organisations that hang onto the coat tails as "reformers", because of the heinous label being bandied about by probable losers...

"Gerrymandering."

Fortunately for all, the electorate prefer a winner to a loser, so Carwyn's bluster is just that, I am sure behind closed doors there is the expectation of great things to come .......... from the left wing !

Wales through the eyes of the Times ...

2011-11-20T14:30:00.000Z

...journalist Giles Coren :

God, I love Wales. And I love the Welsh. They are so much more mellow, more at peace with themselves and with the world, than the people of this United Kingdom’s other smaller nations. They’re not all up in your face with their tedious folklore and nationalist yearnings and the anti-imperial truisms of long, fighty memory. They’re not all wiry and shouty and drunk and thinking they invented poetry. They just chill their boots in their gorgeous country, and speak to each other in the lilting calypso of their magical language – no doubt about what terrible bastards the rest of us are – and sing their songs and eat their wonderful food and look out at the sea.

... yesterday 19 Nov 2011, he obviously missed the ten percent that would float Wales off into the Irish sea, fortunately for the reputation of the peoples of Wales.

Right to buy, here in Wales ...

2011-11-19T11:43:00.000Z

... the politicians will probably say no to the people.

Across the boundary that was Offa's Dyke David Cameron and Nick Clegg will reveal details on Monday of their vision to democratise housing further, Margaret Thatchers flagship programme of council house sales is to be upgraded to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The average £26,000 discount for a council home is set to jump to about £52,000, with tenants in London and the South East saving even larger sums under the new scheme, additionally first-time buyers will be eligible for 95 per cent mortgages, similar to those available at the height of the property boom five years ago, and underwritten by the government. Will the new loan guarantee result in lenders providing mortgages with deposits of only 5 per cent, compared with the 20 per cent or more that has to be paid at the moment?

Mr Cameron will also confirm plans to release thousands of acres of public land owned by hospitals, schools and the Ministry of Defence to allow, in theory, up to 100,000 homes to be built.

Good news? Probably, it has every chance of working, the right ingredients are ready to put into the mixing bowl, unfortunately for the peoples of Wales mainstream politics is firmly embedded in the politics of the last century so the scheme is unlikely to migrate westwards ..............

.............. yet we all pay the same taxes ?

If you build it, they will ...

2011-11-14T09:11:00.000Z

... come to the market.

Two quiet reports have made the news, both should have been shouted from the rooftops of our various political houses, and surprise surprise, it is not just Westminster that is able to act, our very own Assembly is able to contribute to the solution and share considerable kudos with Westminster !

The first report relates to the governments (Westminster) intention to inject billions into the economy, with the proviso that each investment be sold onto various markets, energy, various infrastructure such as roads and hospitals, and the Coup de grâce is social housing.

The second report in today's Times by the country’s largest listed residential landlord "Grainger" that predicts the shortage of housing will force 50% of the population to rent by 2026.

One man's desperation is another man's opportunity, and this particular conundrum opens the door for Carwyn into Downing Street, not with a begging bowl, but with an opportunity to share in the finance bowl. The intention is not to coerce businesses into building for the future, but for government to under-right projects that would then be sold on to those best fitted to finance and manage the ensuing business.

Carwyn is positioned to gain capital for much needed social housing, such projects do not have to be sold on to outfits such as Grainger, there would be sufficient time for existing social landlords local to the Principality, though in the larger scheme it wouldn't matter a jot as long as the peoples of Wales could live in good homes.

It's a roller-coaster world that a life-changing ...

2011-11-13T18:52:00.000Z

... condition presents to the unwary, it focuses the mind, cutting through the crap and identifying those that would have you change your life to suit their unbecoming style, particularly politics, and it is here I would start.

There exists in cyberspace an anonymous creature that uses the penname "Welsh Ramblings", he writes here of Wales and his vision of a very socialist society, to give credit, there is consistency, a single minded purpose to drive Wales into the arms of a Albanian style dictatorship of the 1950's. The latest diatribe consists of an attack on the WAG Labour administration entitled "Labour: against Welsh democracy", it is because the penny has dropped amongst the Cardiff Bay politicians that "First Past the Post" produces stronger government, I wrote following the last election that the Labour Party would have a governable majority were it not for the system that introduces losers into the political equation.

Democracy is left at the ballot box as the electorate make their choice, what comes after should be "winner takes all", who wants anything other than winners at the Assembly.

Peter Black today wrote ...

In fact the mandate for the Assembly's voting system lies in the 1997 referendum, when voters supported a partially proportional system of electing AMs, in which the constituency boundaries were tied to those for Westminster.

... Liberal Democratic bullshit, the electorate were given two choice questions:

I agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly.
I do not agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly.

... no mention of voting systems on that particular ballot paper, the recent referendum did ask the electorate whether it was their wish to move from the FPTP currently used for National Elections, the electorate made a categoric choice, it wishes to keep FPTP rejecting second place politics. It was politicians and their familiars that created the Wales voting system, not the people.

... a message to Peter Black goes something like "........... the electorate, we do not like lies."

And to finish my Sunday night post, I was diagnosed as diabetic just three weeks ago, I am fortunate it is only Type 1; medication, diet and exercise has taken over my life, fortunately it doesn't affect the mind, not just yet anyway.

... and congratulations to Jon and Miranda on the arrival of Amelie, a pretty little girl.

Anti-capitalistm, attogram a ...

2011-10-30T15:24:00.000Z

... meniscus tear and if the pain wasn't tough enough I discovered last Thursday I am diabetic, the world does suck at times.

They sit outside Saint Paul's cathedral under banners that proclaim "Capitalism isn't working", their right to freedom of expression should not detract from their misunderstanding of commerce. Capitalism is working well, it is the mechanism that delivers my shirt at a price I am willing to pay in sufficient quantities to satisfy demand. Now if the camps proclaimed the markets as having flaws that can be rectified through the use of the law they would have a case, monopoly power supply in the UK is one such case, monopoly or oligopoly (the decisions of one firm influence, and are influenced by, the decisions of other firms, it raises prices and restrict production in much the same way as a monopoly).

Unfortunately the protesters add to their message "Capitalism isn't working" the words "another world is possible", no word on what exactly this other world might be. Public opinion on the other hand is mixed, a majority tells the authorities to evict the protesters, another majority tells Saint Paul's it was wrong to close, yet another majority tells the world that they support the aims of the protesters. Weird times .........

On farming subsidies, do we all, including the poor of Anglesey, subsidise the lamb roast of Carwyn Jones, or should Carwyn Jones pay the real price of Welsh lamb, such is the case of farming subsidies.

Still no news on when my torn meniscus is to be repaired, having put down my loss of weight these past months to the pain in my knee, I was quite devastated when our GP diagnosed me as being diabetic ..............

.............. attogram, the weight of a typical e-book downloaded to the Amazon Kindle, lighter than a print book.

Subsidies, the taxpayers curse ...

2011-10-26T11:37:00.000+01:00

... and the litmus test for any business, and that includes farming in Wales.

Today's report that farmers in Wales receive £280 million in subsidies (this amount equates to 80% of their income) is a cautionary indicator to those who generate the base wealth of Britain, it means farming in Wales has become an economic junkie, unable to function without its next "financial fix".

If our farmers (all the British farmers) need so much money from the British taxpayers, and EU money arriving in Britain is British taxes, then the businesses are probably not viable and should be allowed to sink with all the other insolvent businesses (including banks).

Government subsidies hide reality.

Jane Davidson ...

2011-10-25T07:27:00.000+01:00

... said:

"There is a world of difference between the circumstances of my case and that of a Minister of Defence, for example, who goes and works for an arms dealer."

When responding to criticism that she failed to follow procedures when applying for a job whilst serving as Environment Minister in the Welsh Government.

In fact there is no difference, no defence ...............

The peoples president, ...

2011-10-23T15:25:00.000+01:00

... I remember him well, on posters ...

... during the 1970's, they were wanted posters for republican terrorists, funny this world of ours, ...

... does a leopard change its spots ?

Politics .................

Crazy men and crazy ...

2011-10-22T14:44:00.000+01:00

... women, compare the list with politicians.

grandiose sense of self importance.
preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance.
belief that he/she is special and can only be understood by other special people.
requires extensive admiration.
has a sense of entitlement, favourable treatment, automatic compliance.
exploitative, takes advantage of others to achieve his or her ends.
lacks empathy.
envious of others, believes others to be envious of him or her.
shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes.

"Diagnostic criteria for narcissistic disorder", from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic ................ Medical Disorders.

Find any five of the pervasive pattern of grandiosity from the list and discover a certain grandiosity.

Consider Alex Salmond ................... or other leaders from history, .... and we vote to give these latter day Nero's power.

WAG stags have nothing of quality ...

2011-10-17T10:02:00.001+01:00

... to rut with !

The peoples of Wales have no opposition worth its salt, we only have an opposition of posturing ...

... bullfrogs, each of which has much to say about nothing.

... and the loony left of Wales say the NHS is best left as a public ...

2011-10-16T12:52:00.000+01:00

... service, apparently businesses are incapable of providing a good enough service !

When I read the tired words of a sterile apology ...

Stephen Graves, chief executive of West Suffolk hospital, said: "We have passed on our sincere apologies for any anxiety or distress which Mrs Dixey experienced in our care and assured Mrs Jacques that lessons have been learnt as a result of her complaint. We are committed to ensuring that all of our patients are treated with dignity."

... I know the lessons and commitments are essentially nationalised industry bullshit.

The story from today's Sunday Times, written by Sarah-Kate Templeton the Health Editor, is horrific to those who might become elderly patients of the future, and that's everyone ...

On her visits to her mother during treatment at the West Suffolk hospital in Bury St Edmunds, Jacques would take notes of what she found. On one occasion her mother had become dehydrated and fluid charts showed she had had nothing to drink between 12pm and 7pm. ........... Call bells were not answered, staff did not introduce themselves to patients or explain what they were about to do. Patients were also addressed in the most impertinent manner by young staff. She was addressed as a child. "Please is a word" [a nurse said to her].

Jacques mother, who was recuperating from a broken leg on a rehabilitation ward, died in April, just weeks after she had been discharged.

If the markets were in operation, if there was choice, if there were competition, would this particular parody of a caring organisation be open for business ? I doubt it, it seems that to have the words "NHS Hospital" and "nursing" in the same sentence is oxymoron.

I am waiting for a knee operation, I think I might be safer paying for the operation, not for the surgeon, but the post op nursing ....................

Fagiolini in umido ...

2011-10-12T09:28:00.000+01:00

... or braised beans with tomatoes in the vernacular, is a classic Tuscan summer dish from River café that should be doable all year round.

Ingredients for 6

1 500g jar of peeled plum tomatoes
1kg waxed yellow beans, tailed
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 bunch fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil

Method

Blanch the beans in salted boiling water until tender.
Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan and add the garlic.
Gently fry before adding half of the basil and season.
Add the tomatoes, and keeping the heat high, cook to reduce to a thick sauce, which should take 10 minutes.
Add the beans, stir to combine and season with black pepper.
Add the remaining basil leaves and serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

... alternatively you might like to read Betsans blog, it will bore you to tears, Welsh politics is so sleep inducing.

... they didn't ask me either, ...

2011-10-10T11:27:00.000+01:00

... but they don't have to in Wales, they didn't teach me to read and write either ...

... so I couldn't "opt out", I'm not sure what "opt out" means, I can't remember "opt out" in our classes at school, why have the politicians hung my body in the cold room with the pork ...

... am I the Assembly bacon ?

Mean spirited, not the voice of Wales, or ...

2011-10-09T08:06:00.000+01:00

... is it an attempt to impose a selective apartheid to further the aims of the separatist agenda ?

To understand the politics of Jac it might be necessary to read his latest diatribe supported by Miserable, it represents a separation of people based upon origin and social conditions, except where the origin might fit a comfortable criteria that is perceived to have no impact on the objectives of the nationalists of the North West (refugees and the persecuted). It is of course an extension of "identity politics" so beloved of the nationalists of Wales.

The preoccupation with group injury is one of the most visible features of identity politics. The rhetoric of victimisation indicates that it is a sense of vulnerability that fuels the demand for the validation of identity, and it is the fragile character of emotion-based identities that unleashes the permanent quest for affirmation.¹ It is a belief that precisely because the quest for identity can never be fully realised that it is open to the influence of intolerant sensibilities. An insecure identity not only craves recognition, it also has difficulty dealing with challenges to itself.

¹ 'Fragile identities' Therapy culture:Cultivating Vulnerability in an Uncertain Age. 2004. London: Routledge.

With the call by Jac and Miserable for the application of intolerance upon the most vulnerable sections of society, a group of people who might depend for shelter on the Social Housing sector, how soon before there is a call to extend their modern day Welsh apartheid to the rental market as a whole, or to apply conditions of residence before a person is allowed to buy a home in Wales.

And what exactly is this society that Jac and Miserable wish to stamp upon? It is anyone they do not approve of, anyone that doesn't fit into their narrow vision of the future.

Intolerance of our neighbours takes many forms, the last European nationalists to identify and treat sections of society as less than desirable were the Nazi regime of Germany who discriminated against ...

Jews
Roma (or Gypsies)
political prisoners
homosexuals
people with disabilities
Jehovah's Witnesses
Catholic clergy
...

... and who will be the local judge to determine acceptability, candidates best be devoid of social conscience and responsibility, maybe Jac or Miserable ............

What did Bethan Jenkins mean when ...

2011-10-06T11:16:00.000+01:00

... when she said:

Any major cuts in BBC Wales' provision will be a severe blow to attempts to increase public awareness of our national structures and democratic institutions.

... and:

The BBC's news coverage in Wales has particular importance due to the shortage of media sources here".

In regard to the shortage of media coverage, this is a "Cnut" moment,where Jenkins is attempting to hold back the waves of public indifference to her political preferences. The shortage of media reflects a public rejection of what she sees dear to the political process, the public of our 21st century just wish to be entertained, who watches Panorama when there is "Mock the Week" being televised, people prefer to laugh than cry.

I have a certain sympathy with the apparent lack of awareness of structures and institutions by the public, it is manifest every election. Rhodri Morgan might have had an answer to this particular issue through the Welsh Baccalaureate, but by choosing it as a senior qualification he lost the plot, if it had been part of education from senior year 1, almost every pupil would leave school with what could have been a meaningful qualification, and along the way, with careful teaching, an understanding of political Wales.

When the Ucas general secretary said …

2011-10-06T10:36:00.000+01:00

… “we sincerely hope that it'll be possible to avoid further strike action, but that's in the government's hands now”.

The words of a seemingly powerful elite holding sway over the government elected by consent.

There is no place in Britain for a modern day Arthur Scargill, Elaine Edwards Ucac general secretary might like to read the history of that particular time and remember the little people who pay their taxes so that she and her membership can insist on a bigger share of the national cake.

... Theresa May, facist, not wanted ...

2011-10-02T12:13:00.000+01:00

... on our democratic journey when she prevents Maryam Rajavi from exercising an invitation to speak to members of our parliament.

Theresa May and the pathetic civil service running her office is preventing an eminent and well respected dissident from the tyrannical Iran regime from speaking on the subject of "women and their mistreatment in Iran", her crime is "to call for a democratic and secular government committed to the rule of law and respect for human rights".

There is distinctly unpleasant smell emanating from the Home Office, it is the smell that accompanies lies, half-truths and appeasement, the government of the 1930's did much the same with Nazi Germany and 60 million people died as a result (including 6 million Jews).

In a parady of democracy Theresa May said she had taken into account the views of the Foreign Office and other departments ...

"I have concluded that maintaining Mrs Rajavi’s exclusion is justified as I do not consider her presence in the UK to be conducive to the public good. The government makes no apologies for refusing people access to the UK if we believe they might seek to undermine our society."

Well, I have thought about our "freedoms of thought and expression" and about "appeasement of tyrannies" ...

...It seems our government and their civil servants prefer the company of "international bullies" to the more civilised company found amongst the British people and those Members of Parliament who try to represent their views and feelings.

... new European Union referendum on the cards ...

2011-10-02T08:37:00.002+01:00

... after a petition signed by more than 100,000 people was submitted to MPs, the Commons Backbench Business Committee will agree to grant a one-day debate on a referendum after parliament returns from its summer recess next week, the debate, thought to take place before Christmas, would be the first seeking the public’s opinion since the historic 1975 decision to join the Common Market, (source The Sunday Times 2 Oct 2011).

The single question uppermost on many minds is ....

... why should we have an open door policy to economic migration, why should the poor of Anglesey or Tyne and Wear pay taxes that are used to subsidise foreign workers.

A second question might be ...

... should we continue to be dictated to by the unelected poltroons of Europe who decide to impose social conditions upon Britain without a mandate bought at the ballot box.

An interesting debate if the politicians voice the concerns of their electorate, and there are more than the two questions I might ask.

Brutal and moronic Iran, ...

2011-09-29T09:31:00.000+01:00

... that's how Tristan Jakob-Hoff described the current regime that intends to execute a man because of his beliefs.

Youcef Nadarkhani a Christian pastor has refused to renounce his faith to escape a death sentence pronounced by an Iranian court. When the court gave Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, a third and final chance to avoid hanging, but he replied: "I am resolute in my faith and Christianity and have no wish to recant".

As an atheist I find the events incredulous, the mystical past of the middle east holds as much credence as do the tales of Arthur and the Round Table, although as a human being I defend the rights to have a belief system, just don't even think of bringing your evangelism to my home ...

...wow, am I so different to the Iranian Islamic priesthood, well the Jehovah's Witness or Mormon missionary who knocks on my door won't find me at all interested, but they will not be asked to recant, neither will there be the alternative option of being assisted with the last great leap of faith.

So the only difference between a Caerphilly door and the Iranian courtroom is the level of violence offered to the missionary. There has to be more, we are after all civilized in our secular world; but how civilized is it to refuse the offer of an explanation of another persons belief, albeit in mystical terms.

By turning our back on the other view, we often use an expression such as "lets agree to disagree" or "... but I defend your right ...", and slot the event into the tolerance bag, and this is where we become less than honest, we should always challenge opposing views or the unproven hypothesis, along the way we can maintain the dignity of those who sit opposite.

The dishonesty practised by the Iranian State is founded on its fear of debate and fomenting internal opposition from the people of Iran, here lies the real reason Youcef Nadarkhani is going to be executed ...

In 2009, he challenged the regime’s insistence that all schools should teach Islam. He was arrested in October that year and has been imprisoned in Rasht ever since. He was sentenced to death for apostasy by a court in Rasht last year.

Well at least we are able to voice our disent in Britain, or are we ...

... don't listen to them Carwyn, they have little ...

2011-09-28T10:03:00.000+01:00

... to offer Wales, I refer to the Liberal Democrats and Plaid, both parties are more interested in popular opinion rather than what Wales needs, you on the other hand have allies amongst the more conservative voters with a social conscience from all sections of society.

So why might you listen to any advice I might have, simple, my advice is no advice, just keep your eye on the ball and deliver your promises, although your department that deals with businesses is a more than a little weak, at times it seems very odd to the electorate, certain experiences seems to be missing ... and there is more to Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies, he has said some aspects of the programme (that's your current programme under discussion) were of concern, as was the track record of some ministers. I read that as support.

Now no advice doesn't mean I have nothing to say, I might suggest you look at Felixstowe for vision, it opens a new deepwater terminal today that will increase trade through the port by 50%, could you find a little time to understand how flexible Standard Chartered runs its business so that it is able to add 1000 people to its payroll during this last year, and let us not forget individuals such as Major-General John Page who had an abiding concern for those less fortunate or less forceful than himself, he died this month age 88.

It's all to be found on-line with The Times.

Oh, and lets not forget, you have enough time to fix things before the next election .....

Writing in the Irish Times ...

2011-09-27T17:38:00.000+01:00

... Professor Philip Walton, (Emeritus Professor of Applied Physics, NUI, Galway, Moycullen, Co Galway) offered an alternative view to the "Windy Lobby", he would be classed as "heretic" by those with a vested interest in the "wind turbine".

Sir, – Your leader “Nuclear Sunset?” (September 23rd) begs a response.

With global warming and depleting fossil fuels, it is extremely unlikely that the world is about to turn its back on a safe, low-carbon, virtually sustainable source of base load electricity – nuclear power.

There are currently 440 nuclear reactors generating 15 per cent of the world’s electricity and currently 496 are planned or proposed. Pre-Fukushima this number was 478, showing no evidence of any retrenchment. A total of 29 countries have nuclear power and now 17 more have plans to join the club. These include Belarus, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Poland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich country which sees the writing on the wall.

It is very unlikely that in Ireland, and elsewhere, renewables (primarily wind) will meet more than a small fraction of energy needs. Our plan is to get 40 per cent of our electricity from wind by 2020 but this presents major difficulties due to its intermittency; we get 12 per cent now. Denmark, world leaders in wind power for more than 30 years, only manages 9.7 per cent and it can get power from Norway, Sweden and Germany when the wind fails.

Even if we succeed in getting the 40 per cent, one must ask where does the remaining 60 per cent would come from?

Germany’s plans to withdraw from nuclear power by 2022 are seen by many to be political expediency by Angela Merkel. As a consequence it plans to open more coal plants and will import more electricity from France (primarily nuclear) and the Czech Republic (26 per cent nuclear). It is also estimated that Germany will generate about 40 million tonnes more carbon dioxide per year as a result.

We must have a proper and informed debate on the nuclear option for Ireland. – Yours, etc.,

... where Ireland insert GB, the separatists might insert Wales, how might Plaid respond to the voice of reason.

Plaid Cymru has long campaigned ...

2011-09-27T13:43:00.000+01:00

... for the devolution of powers over energy to Wales. A latest announcement reads ...

"It is only with these powers here in Wales that we will be able to harness the full potential of energy generation for the good of our communities, our economy and our environment." So sayeth Plaid member Llyr Huws Gruffydd, read Plaids' take here.

(brief observation .......... completing his education at Aberystwyth University, Plaid Cymru Assembly Member and advocate for devolution of powers over energy has few relevant experiences. His credentials seem a little skewed to this particular advocacy, as youth worker - Wales Youth Agency - Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services and National Trust in Wales, there is nothing linked to "energy".)

... hence the question, "explain how having powers over energy will be good for communities, economy and environment", presumably in Wales.

What differences would the electorate see, in our green and pleasant land .......

... you can forget nationalism in Wales, if ...

2011-09-26T08:10:00.000+01:00

... the other political parties use the same techniques Plaid has used to manipulate the political conversations over recent years.

The methodology is quite simple, create a "modern day heresy", does anyone remember the term "unionist" used in a political context much before the beginnings of devolution, "anti-welsh" is another creation to beat the heretics of welsh politics, of welsh nationalism.

The "separatist agenda" of Wales uses "identity politics" as its primary means of leverage in its relentless pursuit of independence, as J.S.Mill wrote in his "On Liberty", "a tyranny of public opinion" may flourish even in the "absence of legal constraint or coercion" (in the 21st century Wales this public opinion is very noisy yet very small in numbers). In Wales the three other political players have unwittingly provided Plaid Cymru with the tools to further their stated aim of independence from Great Britain, and the singular most powerful of these tools in the armoury of separation is that of "difference", all of a sudden the peoples of Wales became part of an illusion of an oppressed people under the heel of Westminster, as if different to the people of any other region of Britain.

Until recently it was difficult to extract from Plaid its intention of separation, its outpourings spoke of the far distant future and couched in terms such as "full national status for Wales", today however there can be no doubt of the intentions of this troublesome political party, read here.

So what can we expect from the politicians at our Assembly, we might expect the full weight of government and opposition resources brought to bear to create a new "politics" to counter Plaids "identity politics", it might be "politics of equality", rid Wales of its crachach and its disproportionate influence, or it could extend out into the communities as "inclusive politics", it might be the "peoples of Britain" reject the politics of separation.

There is a place for Westminster in this very serious game of "political rounders", there is a need to encourage enterprise and the entrepreneur, the only way to counter nationalism of the real world is to create a better alternative, it might be the "British Enterprise" zone, an inclusive concept to promote the projects and businesses that will create a better world for ordinary people. What place is there for Plaid and the SNP when the pay packet is thicker and young people have jobs ?

I wrote recently of the intolerance of Jack, I was wrong to suggest there is no place for the Jacks' of this world, we need the Jacks' of this world as a demonstration of the sick world such people would have us inhabit, a world of exclusions.

The separatist agenda are reaching out for the next set of enabling tools ...

devolution of police and the justice system
devolution of broadcasting
control over our natural resources
control over energy
powers to set taxes

... this list is consistent with nationalist politics, it seeks to constrain the "independence of the individual", it is consistent with the "I know best" politics of subservience.

Just before I sign off, a word to the able-bodied citizens who maintain our streets and car parks, if you use a walking stick you cannot hop over a large stretches of standing water, the only option is to walk through the damned water, I know because my torn cartilage of the knee gives me a temporary disability, I have stopped hopping over water.

Politics and John Swinney, quite illogical at times ...

2011-09-22T08:40:00.000+01:00

... as demonstrated by the nationalist government North of the border.

John Swinney, Scotland’s Finance Secretary, delivered a major shock for supermarket giants selling tobacco and alcohol in Scotland by announcing that he would be imposing a business rates supplement on them from next April, he said ...

... (it is) necessary to combat the impact on the NHS and law and order north of the Border of cheap drink and cigarettes.

... his logic doesn't quite reach the rational that the tax will not effect drinking and smoking one little bit, it might alter the habit of consumer choice, switching to a cheaper brand or less than enjoyable wine (it tastes the same after the first glass).

The reality is the Scottish government needs the money raised to fund its largess by means other that the Westminster funding.

The Scottish Retail Consortium director Ian Shearer said "This new tax is a blatant fund-raising exercise ... it will make it harder for food retailers to keep prices down for customers, and makes Scotland a less attractive place to do business, invest and create jobs."

It is predicted the business rates levy would result in major food retailers paying an extra half-a-billion pounds in tax over the next four years.

Naturally John (the mouth) Swinney ...

... will lay the blame for his poor logic on Westminster.

Oops, he did it without taking a breath through that enormous mouth ...

... he described the budget cuts facing the SNP government as "the most swingeing the country has seen since the Second World War" and laid the blame firmly at the door of the coalition Government at Westminster. Scots, he said, were "being held to ransom by a UK Government they did not vote for".

I'm sure Plaid could take note of the strategy, create a crisis and place the blame anywhere but at your own feet, preferably in the precincts of Westminster, pathetic in fact .....

Australia might give Wales a snapshot ...

2011-09-20T07:55:00.000+01:00

... of the future where politics controls the media, to wit ...

An Australian political satire has been condemned by monarchists and MPs after depicting the Prime Minister having sex on the floor of her office while draped in the national flag.

Commentators and members of the public expressing their opinion on newspaper websites were also upset with the show with some saying its depiction of the home life of the country’s first female leader was offensive and sexist

“Rude, negative, abusive, disrespectful and now grubby,” a viewer named Andrea Moore wrote on The Australian national newspaper’s website.

A Liberal MP said the program degrades the office of the prime minister, and called for a rethink of funding of the national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

I cannot imagine a scene where Carwyn was similarly displayed, nor in fact the other political leaders of the Wales Assembly, all draped under the "Red Dragon", not necessarily together, what I can imagine are similar attempts to push political fingers in the media pie were it devolved; there is sufficient evidence this type of activity has occurred between WAG and S4C in the recent past.

ABC responded with ...

“If it’s okay for others to drape themselves in our flag for all manner of occasions, I really don’t see why it can’t be draped over our prime minister as a symbol of love,” the spokesman said.

I wonder how a devolved "BBC Wales" would show the First Minister if a political sword hung over its head, not a pretty vision to contemplate.

... a story from the Far East made me think ...

2011-09-18T16:50:00.000+01:00

... of the responsibility we might have for the effect our consumption has on the environment and its peoples on the other side of the world, to wit lead pollution on the young people of Zhejiang province.

The assumption I make is that the Health & Safety of people working in industry in the UK is more rigorous than found elsewhere in the world. In other words, we should pollute ourselves because our pollution will be less than those less protected. In the case linked above in paragraph 1, we should only use the batteries we produce.

A major player in the battery market is the US company Johnson Controls Inc ...

Due to increasing global demand for high-quality automotive batteries for environmentally friendly Start-Stop technology, Johnson Controls is investing $100 million to build a Start-Stop vehicle battery plant in China........ the company also announced ......... "We project that China will continue to be the fastest growing market for automobiles through the end of this decade".

Nothing wrong there, the business has forecast its best future rests on mainland China so there it invests its capital, but, there is often a "but", there is sufficient anecdotal evidence to suggest the people of Zhejiang province and elsewhere are not sufficiently protected against a process based on the lead industry, a metal that has catastrophic effects on people.

The moral dilemma is, should we use products in the knowledge that people elsewhere are being hurt by our consumption, made in China might be problematic .........

Salmon(d) and Chocolate French toast, add ...

2011-09-18T08:23:00.000+01:00

... school children and we have a minor crisis for another perfectly manufactured storm in that caledonian teacup we call Scotland.

First the vision of "jowls Salmond" and the French toast followed by the antipodean recipe, I wonder, could the toast be a precursor to Salmond's double chin ?

... by Bill Grange of the Times, his kick-start the day for 4 at breakfast.

Ingredients

3 eggs
185ml milk
1 tbsp caster sugar
Pinch of sea salt
20g unsalted butter
8 slices white bread
100g chocolate, milk or dark as prefered, chopped

Icing sugar, to serve

Method.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, caster sugar and salt in a large, shallow dish. Heat the butter in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.

Dip two slices of the bread into the egg mixture, turning them over until they are completely coated. Put them in the frying pan and sprinkle each one with a quarter of the chopped chocolate. Soak another two slices of bread in the egg mixture and put on top of the chocolate bread in the pan to make sandwiches. Press lightly with a spatula to seal the edges.

Cook for 3 minutes each side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and serve immediately, or keep warm while you make the other two sandwiches. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

The recipe is not to my taste, and neither is Salmond as he tries to pick the threadbare pockets of the British taxpayers ...

... his latest attempt is through public sector pensions, he raises the cost of pension schemes of NHS workers, police, teachers and fire-fighters in Scotland by refusing to increase employee contributions by 3.2 per cent starting in April 2012, this would be an additional cost to the Treasury of £8.4 million a month.

Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, had warned the Scottish government that he would reduce its (Scottish) budget by £8.4 million a month if it (Salmond and chums) did not increase members’ contributions to public sector pension schemes from next April, in line with the rest of the UK.

The second ingredient in Salmond's storm is his proposal to extend the franchise for referendum in Scotland to children age 16 years and over as reported in yesterdays press:

A bold SNP initiative to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds in a bid to gather support for independence is to be included in the Scottish government’s Referendum Bill.

The Times understands that UK ministers have effectively conceded defeat on the issue and have admitted they are powerless to stop the Scottish government lowering the franchise below the 18 age limit currently in place for UK and Scottish elections.

Alex Salmond is keen to lower the voting age for the independence referendum, aware that young Scots are generally much more enthusiastic about independence than their older counterparts. The First Minister wants a clause written into the Referendum Bill which would extend the franchise to those aged 16 and 17 on the electoral register, rather than just those aged 18 and over, as is the case with normal elections.

So there you have it, Salmond takes the initiative and creates another brick for his separatist wall, and in three years he will have up to 125,000 new voters added to the Scottish electorate, adding three per cent to the voters’ roll, all he needs to complete this particular strategy is an Xbox game entitled "William Wallace and The Bruce - the wars of Independence" to ensure the kids do it his way.

For the rest of Britain ...

... you can get your bunting from the Hampshire Flag Company in time for the ...

... farewell street party.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, in need of a ...

2011-09-16T10:15:00.000+01:00

... reality check, the Public Bodies Bill currently going through Parliament lists those organisations that require public funding in its scope, including S4C. An amendment tabled to exclude S4C from the Bill was defeated in committee, following the defeat Bethan Williams, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, was led out of the committee room shouting (in Welsh) "This vote is an insult to the people of Wales", how many in the room would have understood her.

Elsewhere the House of Commons passed an amendment which says that the secretary of state shall secure that S4C is provided with sufficient funds to cover the cost of delivering its television services, seemingly a contradiction.

As a public body S4C is not in any way exceptional, nor can it be made an exception where public funding is used, the public should expect scrutiny of the organisation and its funding by our members of parliament, for a decade or more S4C has benefited from a £ Billion without effective scrutiny, the current state of this organisation tells a story of ineptitude of almost biblical proportions.

If the language activists wish to have total control over S4C they must ask for it as a gift from government to do as they wish, becoming a private organisation much as Sky TV, I'm sure such a request would be met with a positive response. The funding then could be arranged through the Welsh Assembly Government, on an annual basis, in public, competing with all the other demands for public funds. An organisation such as Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg might consider buying the TV channel and making it a pay-per-view option of the airways, then they would be able to do as they wished.

The bottom line is scrutiny, if you want taxpayers pennies expect it, scrutiny is the only way in a democracy.

Notable that Leanne Wood A.M. has refused to pay her license fee in protest against good governance, she also wants to have control over all broadcasting in Wales, what would the audience do if politicians screwed up in the same way our Wales education and our young peoples futures have been effectively destroyed, switch to Sky is my prediction.

... for tolerance, I couldn't advise Jack's view of ...

2011-09-15T10:10:00.000+01:00

... the world, in particular the relationship between Wales and the rest of humanity.

For the latest diatribe you might hop across to his blog, though I would warn it is not for the faint-hearted.

He writes in one paragraph ....

... hate filled and intolerant, and he is not alone. intolerance

Just the other day I was sent an email with a single embedded image ...

... obviously he lives in a different reality, possibly the Discworld of Terry Pratchett, there is a downside, he works for an assembly member who must by definition approve of his particular intolerance, will the A.M. approve of "kickings" in the wider world I wonder. Is it hate filled or intolerant, I'm not sure, when comparing his words with those of Jack I see a certain similarity ......

Scotland and the Union, a reply to Alwyn ap Huw …

2011-09-13T09:21:00.000+01:00

Alwyn wrote:

I am not sure that I understand the point that you are making John. The name of what is left if Scotland leaves the UK is irrelevant, what concerns me is what sort of political entity it will be.

I agree in part, when Scotland leaves what remains might be called “peppermint blue”, it will be a similar geographical area as it was before the union, plus a small area of Ireland. Great Britain is not a remainder, it is the “whole number”, the remainder is in fact Scotland following the division by the “Scottish separatist agenda”, mathematically the remainder is the indivisible part following division, some scots might disagree as whether Scotland might be further divided but that is a particularly Scottish debate.

The name is important because it underpins the politics that remains post Scottish independence, so whereas “peppermint blue” is a sufficient label, it fails to carry over the social glue that is so essential to the remaining body of politics. And after 800 years of togetherness (some less than generous might refer to a certain colonial nature of the relationship) there will be a sufficiency of social glue shared by the peoples of the reborn Great Britain that the political entity will remain by and large as it was on “SI – 1” (Scottish Independence minus 1 day).

In summation, whilst a name might be irrelevant, in the case of “Great Britain” it is the pot that holds the history which is of course a large part of the shared social glue.

Alwyn wrote:

At the moment all of the political parties seem to be ignoring this issue. Even if, as you seem to suggest, the remainder just carries on as if nothing has changed, political movements need to work out how to insure that happens – it's not going to happen automatically.

With both Labour and Conservatives becoming Scottish Labour and Scottish Conservatives the preparations are well underway, I believe Alex Salmond has influenced these changes, and there is little doubt that Scotland will become Independent Scotland amongst the great and good of Edinburgh and its political classes.

Myself, I agree with the political sentiments.

Alwyn wrote:

I would agree that there is a body of opinion in England that believes that Scotland should bugger off and close the door behind them (this is not the official policy of any political party as far as I know); what confuses me is your support for them; because most of those who express such an opinion also want Wales to bugger of too – but you are opposed to Welsh independence.

There are two parts to the question:

I support the body of opinion which believes Scotland should be encouraged in its quest for independence, probably for a different reason. Much as a gangrenous limb is amputated because of the profound effect it will have on life itself, Alex Salmond has created a gangrenous political conundrum, a brilliant strategy that forces the other political parties to follow his yellow brick road. It’s too late to do anything other than set them on their way, so as a pragmatist I will help set the tables for a farewell street party to welcome a new British future.

With regard to the independence movement in Wales, it’s a very different animal; its feet are stuck in that social glue I wrote about earlier. If somehow you were able to raise the game plan to a similar level that exists in Scotland then the democratic process would kick in, but in my opinion the shock of the Scottish separation will galvanise the body politic minus Plaid in Wales into action that counters Plaid and benefits the peoples of Wales, and the primary players will be supported by their Westminster partners in crime.

Welsh poltroon or pudding, ...

2011-09-12T08:29:00.000+01:00

... the crème catalana gets our vote, another superb recipe of Bill Granger, one of Australia’s top chefs.

To serve 6

Ingredients:

625ml cream
170ml milk
2 tsp natural vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
Peel from 1 orange
Peel from 1 lemon
6 egg yolks
4 tbsp caster sugar
2½ tbsp soft brown sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 140C/Gas 1. Put the cream, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, orange and lemon peel in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring just to boiling point, then remove from the heat.

Whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl. Strain the cream and pour slowly over the yolk and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Skim off any foam that rises to the top.

Put six 125ml ramekins or dariole moulds in a large roasting tin and spoon the mixture into the ramekins. Pour hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins and cover the whole tin with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until just set. Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin and leave to cool before chilling in the fridge for 2 hours.

Preheat the grill to its hottest temperature. Put the ramekins on a baking tray, sprinkle brown sugar over the chilled creams and then place under the grill for a couple of minutes until the sugar is melted and dark golden (if you have a chef’s blowtorch, this is the time to use it). Leave for a few minutes for the sugar to cool and harden before serving.

Why poltroon you might wonder, Plaid MEP Evans is calling for a mass refusal to pay the TV licence fee (backed by the Plaid machine). Plaid politicians are encouraging people to replace the £145.50 licence fee with a fine of £1000. Now I'm sure that an MEP earning close to a hundred thousand pounds can afford such a gesture, it is unlikely she will share a cell with a drug-addict, but the rest ......

... this Plaid largess, largess with the earnings of those on minimum wage, might extend to words of encouragement thrown over the jail walls ... it remains for many a choice ...

A choice between a cynical protest advocated by politicians or the antipodean pudding, Australia wins the day, it's no contest .......

Independence ... now Plaid looks out of the abyss ...

2011-09-11T08:43:00.004+01:00

... into the eyes of the electorate, an electorate which will demand answers for so long shrouded in blue smoke as activists waved a mirror, "Independence Day".

... as leanne dreams of being carried across the Rubicon to independence in Adams arms ......

No longer will misleading, duplicitous or frail justifications be accepted when outrageous claims are made, and now the Plaid eyes of the left will need to sharpen their pens and prepare their vision ...

... but lets ask the brigade of political poltroons to add a profit and loss column, because the truth is out there and the electorate deserve nothing less, what will independence cost the peoples of Wales.

On another matter raised at conference, we can now expect Plaid MPs to support Westminster in its quest to replace the building of a replacement for the nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey, and when these MPs support Wylfa we can expect them to support the Nuclear programme with enthusiasm and vigour, in fact to support the notion that light is preferred to darkness.

... or will MPs follow in the footsteps of Jill Evans MEP and turn their backs on conference, as Evans has on the law!

The historian Suetonius, wrote that Caesar uttered the famous phrase ālea iacta est ("the die has been cast"), when he crossed the Rubicon with his armies, Caesars' treason was not punished for 5 years, how long before Plaid will receive a verdict by the electorate, about the same, 5 years.

... happy days !

Plaid or a little lemon ...

2011-09-10T15:40:00.000+01:00

... pudding with yoghurt and blackberries, a gift from Bill Granger of The Times.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

50g unsalted butter
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
115g caster sugar
2 eggs, separated
40g plain flour, sifted
300ml milk
2 tbsp lemon juice

Ingredients to serve:

Plain yoghurt
250g blackberries
Icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Place the butter, lemon zest and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold through the flour, then gradually add the milk in a steady stream, whisking lightly to combine. Add the lemon juice and mix to combine. The mixture will look slightly curdled.

2 Place the egg whites in a clean, dry stainless-steel bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a large metal spoon, fold lightly through the pudding batter. Pour the batter into four 250ml oven-proof ramekins or dariole moulds and place on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Place a dollop of yoghurt and the blackberries on top, then dust with icing sugar.

So what is it to be, the Plaid Cymru conference or pudding ...

... the little lemon pudding wins hands down, on a rainy afternoon.

It was a big mistake when Margaret Thatcher ...

2011-09-10T13:10:00.000+01:00

... caved in to Gwynfor Evans, it's always a mistake to capitulate to a bully, and today there is a similar set of circumstances in Wales concerning the TV channel created in the wake of Evans threat to starve himself to death.

Today Plaid Cymru has voted in its annual Autumn conference to support those people who choose not to pay their TV license fee, in protest at the reorganisation of S4C and its funding. In perspective, the basket case that is S4C has wasted 10 years and a £ Billion of taxpayer funds producing a second rate service that few people are attracted too, it is in desperate need of reform.

But this is not the big issue, S4C is a side-show, for Ms Evans (Wales’ Plaid MEP) it is alternative government brought about by demonstration and protest, and it is a precursor for the real Jewel in the Crown, the BBC, in particular, BBC Wales. Listen to the "separatist agenda" shouting the odds, calling for the management of BBC Wales and broadcasting in general to be brought under the wings of politicians in Wales, a parasitical relationship between politics and media as found during the life of S4C (where politics include pressure groups).

And the $ million question, "why is it so important to Plaid Cymru to gain control over broadcasting in Wales ?"

... it's the only way the separatist agenda can peddle their wares at minimal cost, that is subsidised by the taxpayer, and the pot of gold they see at the end of their particular rainbow, the TV licence fees paid by households west of Offa's Dyke.

So when the protest begins in earnest, fine the protesters the maximum, then send them to jail when the fine is not paid, and the BBC, the peoples of Wales do not want the broadcasting vision of the separatists, we are quite happy with that modernity, liberalism, and democracy that the BBC brings into our homes each day.

Like chocolate, then Pemberton's might be up your street ...

2011-09-09T16:48:00.001+01:00

... as a business opportunity, and the chocolate is very, very good, I have visited enjoyed it and bought for friends and family.

... the business has a product that works, it needs an investor, it could probably do better with a light touch.

For sure the employees want to work .....

myself, I'm too old .........

Jill Evans has decided she is above the law ...

2011-09-09T14:05:00.000+01:00

... and refused to pay her TV licence, pay as the rest of us do !

Info ...

It’s against the law to watch or record TV programmes as they're being shown on TV without a valid licence. This includes the use of devices such as a TV, computer, mobile phone, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder.

Watching TV without a valid licence is a criminal offence. This can lead to prosecution, a court appearance and a fine of up to £1,000 (not including legal costs). The exceptions are in Guernsey where the maximum fine is £2,000 and Jersey it is £500.

It costs £145.50 for a colour and £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence.

So for European Union representative Jill Evans, I expect the penalty to be applied with a certain vigour, the maximum as she is in effect, with the support of Plaid Cymru I heard on today's news, advocating mass evasion of the licence fee.

Can this political poltroon continue to serve as an MEP if she has her deserved criminal record ?

... at the Plaid Cymru conference ...

2011-09-09T08:18:00.002+01:00

... old friends meet up !

... the big question is whether Adam Price prefers "incognito" to coming out on stage as a (not so) surprise guest, as the politics of Plaid takes a lurch from the "left" to the "far left" to complement its "separatist agenda"

George Carlin on different language ...

2011-09-08T09:47:00.000+01:00

Peace and freedom: the blessings of capitalism ...

2011-09-07T08:22:00.001+01:00

... the headline of a profound article written by Daniel Finkelstein in today's Times. The piece could be deemed an obituary, as he begins by telling us ...

The great ideologies dispossessed my father. It was democracy that let him live and die in safety and contentment ... a little more than a week ago my father lifted his arms and did something that he had done countless times before, blessed his children as he ushered in the Sabbath. But he was doing it for the last time. When he had finished, his hands fell to his side. He died the next day, with the blessing as his final act.

... although I enjoyed the prose, for those with an on-line subscription it can be found here, it is the final paragraph that explains a great deal of my own politics, he wrote of his father ...

Unlike those of us born here, my father became British on purpose, as a conscious act, one that he had thought about deeply. He never thought Britain’s leaders corrupt, or that the country was going to the dogs, or that our society was collapsing, undermined by its moral decay. He lived here proud of a nation that let him live, let him learn, let him teach, let him practise his religion. And ultimately let him die in bed, loved by his family.

... and so when I reply to the shallow question of nationalist politics "... and what nation do you belong to ? ", I am quietly confident that being "British" is more than sufficient, but when you reply "British-Welsh" there is a certainty that nationality is a matter of choice, just as Daniel Finkelstein's father chose to be British, those of us who choose to be "British-Welsh" can be certain that when the "separatist agenda" attempt to attach the label "anti-Welsh", to somehow make you less than a patriot, less than Welsh, be thankful because they have lost the argument completely.

Saying I am "British-Welsh", it's a little like saying "I do" when we marry .....

Tim Worstall writing at the Adam Smith Institute blog might be ...

2011-09-04T09:58:00.001+01:00

... considered a little shallow in his conclusion, that we should accept state subsidies by the China government as a bonus, a bonus for whom I wonder, not the British public nor the China public, the blog may be read here.

So, are we the recipient of subsidies by the China government, or might it be "smoke and mirrors" of a dishonest kind, consider for yourself ...

... any subsidy must be paid from the general population of the subsidising country, the factory workers of China.

... the cost of unemployment in the recipient market is paid by the population as a whole, including borrowings, not the industry in the market that imports from China, or any other subsidising country or group of countries (the EU and farming is an example closer to home).

... the price at the till will not relate to the subsidy, but be exactly what the market will bear, not its intrinsic value, therefore any benefits of subsidy will not reach the consumer except during poor trading periods.

So, what should be our response to any subsidies .......

How do you trust someone you ...

2011-09-03T23:16:00.000+01:00

... do not really know ?

You must trust in what you know about them !

Just a couple of throw away lines I heard in a play, not a particularly memorable play, except for the couple of lines that put on the line "personal judgement".

And if you don't know anything about them ..... don't trust a word they utter !

Plaid Cymru spokesman for local government, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, has called on the Welsh Government to look at Plaid Cymru’s Build4Wales proposal as opposed to PFI arrangements.

... two issues, do you know the "man" or the "men and women" who devised the proposal ...... myself, the answer to both questions is "No", therefore I trust the proposal not at all.

But I hear the accusation "... but you know few of the people who you have read over the years, yet you trust their work!"

True, though I distrust much that doesn't have evidence to examine, this particular proposal has little other than smoke and mirrors.

And what about Caerphilly, its administration said PFIs were the only solution to deliver its major projects such as two new schools. A spokeswoman for the council said...

"The council has entered into PFI arrangements over the last decade to fund key schemes, including the construction of two state-of-the-art secondary schools as well as a much-needed road scheme in Blackwood. The PFI option was considered to be the most practical way forward at the time in order to deliver these major projects, while producing value for money for the council taxpayer."

The Caerphilly administration are the very same Political Party that is denouncing PFI, so what do the Assembly Government have to say about the issue ...

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Local authorities are, unlike the Welsh Government, able to borrow directly. So PFI contracts are certainly not the only way in which authorities can raise finance for investment. In the current year, for example, local authorities in Wales intend to borrow more than £250m to fund investment. This means that councils in Wales have been able to maintain capital investment in 2011-12 (£1.06bn) at around the same level as in 2010-11 (£1.08bn).

So, how do you trust someone you do not really know to do the right thing ....... toss a coin is as safe an option as any, except if one party sits diametrically opposed to your politics.

The original article is here.

Cobbler(s), Peach and blueberry (blackberry) ....

2011-09-02T13:05:00.000+01:00

.... a late summer early autumn treat.

... thanks to Edd Kimber (of The Times) ...... Serves 4-6

Ingredients
850g ripe peaches
80g blueberries .............. alternative why not use blackberry
2 tsp lemon juice
100g caster sugar
30g plain flour
Single cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve

For the cobbler:
150g self-raising flour
55g butter
100g caster sugar
120ml buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan oven), gas 4. Put peaches into a bowl of boiling water for one minute (very ripe peaches will take less time).

Remove and cool under cold water.

Use tip of a knife to loosen skin, then peel off. Cut peaches in half to remove the stone, then cut into slices.

In a bowl, mix together the peaches, blueberries, lemon juice, sugar and flour.

Tip into a 1-litre ovenproof dish and bake for 20 minutes while you make the cobbler topping.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter and sugar together until the mixture resembles very fine breadcrumbs.

Pulse in buttermilk just until you have a soft dough. (Alternatively, put flour into a medium bowl and rub in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in sugar. Pour in the buttermilk and mix gently together until you have a soft dough.)

Remove dish of fruit from oven and add topping in large spoonfuls.

Bake for a further 40-50 minutes or until cobbler topping has browned and fruit is bubbling.

Serve with cream or a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Marketing froth, or is there something more ...

2011-09-01T20:18:00.000+01:00

... afoot, well it doesn't seem democratic, and considering "Labour gave a cast-iron guarantee at the last Assembly election that they would retain the current structure of 22 for their entire term of office ( - source Betsan Powys)", it smacks of a dictatorship, or does it.

Out go 22 democratically elected councils and in come 22 democratically elected tiddlers + 6 super imposed quangos with bully boy Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant sitting on a strategic shoulder, much like a pirates parrot but with political cudgel, it does come across as "dictator in motion", it might have been different if only he had asked first ....

.... or could it be simple gerrymandering of outcomes, in a little less than 5 years the Labour Party will be going to the polls and unlike the remainder will be able to gainsay every success found in the reorganised government enterprises (police, education etc.), the not so successful outcomes will be discarded as so much flotsam.

A win-win situation for Labour as the left leaning electorate jump the Plaid ship, and Liberal Democrats haemorrhage its faithful to the call of Carwyn, this is all about winning the next election, not about serving the public. If it was about serving the public Sargeant might have suggested a single police force, after-all there's only 3 million of us, but he doesn't suggest, he dictates, tricky old world our 21st century Wales.

When the Rebeccas destroyed the Bolgoed ...

2011-08-31T16:22:00.001+01:00

... toll-gate on the outskirts of Pontarddulais, 6 July 1843, I wonder if they realised their descendants would become the toll-gate builders of the 21st century.

Not built of stone and lime mortar with the perspiration of the mason as was the 17th century toll-gate, but paper and ink and a certain prejudice against anything East of the River Loughor where Pontardulais is located, by those with a certain agenda to keep out the steady march of time.

And this new toll-booth is the "Action Plan" published by members of the Assembly Government who consider a particular Identity to be preferable to prosperity, the identity of Welshness as demonstrated though the use of the Welsh language, as opposed to Welshness being expressed in the English language. Is there a difference I wonder?

Background information can be found at "New homes seen as threat to Welsh language in Carmarthen".

It seems this action plan is deemed preferable to prosperity, the prosperity that might be brought by people whose only crime is to chase success as measured by the return on capital. This action plan makes it markedly more difficult for inward investment, not because of the language, but because the Assembly Government has created another hurdle to be jumped, an unnecessary hurdle. Try convincing the manufacturer intent on expanding into Carmarthenshire that it is not enough to be neutral towards language, to be indifferent, the business will have to add to the local definition of Wales through positive linguistic action, otherwise approval for the manufacturing plant could be disallowed.

On the wall of our 21st century toll-booth there is a very small sign under the price list, under the tariff that determines whether a proposition might gain entry, the very, very small sign tells the travellers ...

"survival of the language ultimately depends on individuals taking ownership of the language."

... but it doesn't add that there is always a place in Wales for success, there is a place for the entrepreneur, there is a place for difference, it is a sad piece of government ...

The truth, the whole truth, £500 million will ...

2011-08-29T22:57:00.000+01:00

... create about 3000 permanent jobs.

Can we remember the grand plan, the vision of socialism in motion, the seemingly magical projections created by Plaid, the £ half a billion to create 50,000 jobs creating a new infrastructure for Wales.

On the 25th March 2011 I wrote .....

"It's not pie in the sky, it is ... Mad House economic nonsense, Plaid nonsense, a nationalist sound-bite designed to capture the headlines before an election ........... at best naïve, in reality dishonest."

The proof of the pudding can be seen in the BBC report of the 12th August when Tetsuo Iwamura, chief operating officer for Honda's North America region announced "the new Mexican plant will cost $800 million (£500m) to build, and will employ around 3,200 workers producing up to 200,000 cars a year".

I predicted the number of jobs £ half a billion would create was an approximate 5000, it seems if it is reality you prefer then our separatist friends are not best placed to provide it, so keen are they to convince the public that independence is best, I wonder how much of Adam Price's recent "book of temptations" will prove to be little more than chaff, fit only for livestock fodder.

Tetsuo Iwamura or Plaid Cymru, Plaid Cymru or Tetsuo Iwamura ...

... I guess it must be the reality that Tetsuo Iwamura brings to the table ........... you don't have to take my word for it, it is written in black and white for the whole world to see ........... and judge.

Plaid Cymru's Adam Price is currently attempting to disabuse the German economic model, he writes ...

"Listening to German politicians, in particular, is to be served up an economics lecture written by the Brothers Grimm in which over-spending governments are devoured by evil speculators. The problem with this account of “the PIGS and the Wolves” is that it is a fairy story, with little real basis in fact."

... no doubt this economics "expert" will have his good advice accepted by our very successful neighbours ....... but with a little luck no German worth his or her salt will ever have to share a platform with Plaid's heir apparent and certainly place his recent offering into "Room 101" without hesitation.

He doesn't get it does he, Andrew R T Davies ...

2011-08-29T08:29:00.001+01:00

... that is, ARTY to his chums, PARTY to the hunting set and just plain CUCKOO to the rest of us ....

The madness of King Plaid, or can Llyr Huws ...

2011-08-28T16:47:00.000+01:00

... Gruffydd be serious ?

In a world where 41% more people are chasing 11% fewer properties how does he square his views that seriously ambitious proposals for the future of Bodelwyddan are fundamentally flawed. Walking arm in arm with the Bodelwyddan action group, the North Wales Plaid Cymru Assembly Member agrees that ...

The residents believe the plan is fundamentally flawed and unsustainable because it bases its housing need on a population projection that are over inflated by Welsh Government in Cardiff Forecasting. The future population increases on the basis of unsustainable increases in the past is unsound.

The continuing over- development of our countryside when there is no local demand. This concerns the residents as it will exists to encourage in migration to fill the houses.

Not taking seriously account of local people’s views regarding taking over the country side to build extremely large housing developments which will dilute the culture and further threaten the Welsh Language and the heritage of the countryside .

The Council is guilty of adopting a disparaging attitude towards the voice of the village and riding roughshod over local opinion by failing to carry out proper and meaningful consultation with the residents of a small village on whom the impact of a very large developing would have a devastating effect and loss of its unique identity.

Having read through the list several times, it reads ...

The action group thinks the planning experts are wrong, but are not going to say exactly how.

There is no demand for the development as there are no waiting lists for homes, and businesses can locate elsewhere.

The local authority didn't take any notice of the action group, if they had the plans would have been set aside.

Much the same as point 3, but with accompanied foot stamping of feet, and much weeping and wailing.

Well with Westminster moving ahead with their "Enterprise Zones", the Bodelwyddan plans seem to be "just what the doctor ordered", and what is the unemployment rate in the area, and how many jobs may be created, and will the village become a town, and might the town need new schools and the etc. etc. is Plaid going to remain in the past forever ................

.......... and for the sensible of Bodelwyddan why not try Crabbie's Ginger Ale, I guarantee it's good on a warm summer afternoon, better than politic.

Who would expect the poor to remain ...

2011-08-27T16:59:00.000+01:00

... poor, and then to live apart in squalor, in order the wealthy may live that life in a rural or semi-rural idyll.

The concept is nauseating at the very least, but it's the hot chestnut of planning being considered, in an Adam Smith contribution that itself refers to a Pileus blog, as a philosophy of any government (the state) "conspiring" against the poor, and in the context of the Pileus essay it means those unable to buy or rent a home because of cost in their preferred location ...

... and in the context of Wales, somewhere there has been a call to restrict the building of homes and places for industry, for reason of protecting the countryside, a mechanism to keep supply down which in turn raises prices.

In Wales there is a call to restrict housing in the countryside by Mid Wales MP Glyn Davies, he begins by writing ...
Protecting Our Countryside ... I do not like the ongoing undignified row between Government and organisations concerned with protecting the countryside - suffering 'split loyalties'.
... and finishes by laying the blame on immigration
... this is the "Daily Mail" in mufti, and who is to benefit from this protection of the countryside, not the poor of Anglesey that's for certain, or Powys, or Gwent ....

... so is Glyn Davies part of this conspiracy of the state, well it suits him to keep prices high, it suits others like him to restrict planning, the conspiracy of the state, I don't think so, it is nothing less than bullying by the wealthy, it's always a minority that bully, for their own benefit.

What is the point of meaningless ...

2011-08-26T08:13:00.001+01:00

... questions, dreamed up by BBC staff searching for bad news ?

... to wit ...

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS LOST DUE TO HOSPITAL TURNAROUNDS ABOVE 20 MINUTES. TURNAROUND BEING WHEN A&E NOTIFIED BY AMBULANCE CREW THAT PATIENT HAS ARRIVED TO PATIENT BEING HANDED OVER.

... and the bad news ...

BBC Wales health correspondent Arwyn Jones concludes that because there has been a notional rise in the time it takes ambulance staff to hand over patients to hospital staff there is a burdensome cost to the NHS in Wales, his research is published here, check the table, the average handover time from ambulance is ....

.... less than 20 minutes, I believe there should be an applause at this point for the ambulance service staff, but not from the buffoons at BBC Wales, the reporter has written ...

... the total number of hours lost in Wales due to hospital turnarounds above 20 minutes has increased from 37,712 hours in 2008-2009, to 54,476 hours in 2010-2011.

What is he implying, a level of incompetence possibly, or are the staff on a go-slow, it's a bullshit story from a bullshit organisation, the NHS in Wales hasn't an additional cost of £10 million, what it has in reality is ...

... additional effort by the ambulance and A&E hospital staff to meet the demands of the public, and I say this with a certain confidence, because everyone gets treatment.

Maybe the reporters at BBC Wales should get out more, sit alongside people who actually work for a living rather than looking for a story where a story doesn't exist, paid for by the very same people they look to criticise.

They might also consider reading Robert Pirsig's MOQ, and pass it around the political reporters, they are in dire need ...

Why the call for ...

2011-08-24T12:51:00.000+01:00

... investment in infrastructure and wealth transfer during difficult economic times, when there are real solutions for very real problems available with the aid of good analysis.

Could it be because the alternatives are just a little too problematic to politics of all flavours, politicians would be required to do things that would be under the counter transactions, transactions that go by unnoticed by the general population; an alternative to the spend, spend, spend regimes advocated by the Left, and the Left leaning politicians and economists unable to quantify the value of a pleasant place to do business.

It requires a deal more thought, than the regurgitated "Political philosophy" so many politicians study , maybe a more fundamental philosophy, possibly on the lines of "Zen and the art of Governance". Some might remember Robert Pirsig and his book "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance", a 1970's philosophical examination of what I would term "Quality", I don't think the term I use is particularly important, it is his realisation that the world was developing into a multi faceted science that could offer a multitude of explanations when in fact there exists a single hypothesis...

Pirsig was greatly troubled by the theory that there is always more than one workable hypothesis to explain a given phenomenon, and that the number of hypotheses appeared unlimited. He could not find any way around this, and to him it seemed that the whole scientific endeavour was essentially problematic. (from a Guardian report)

I remember quite early in the book (Zen .... ) where Pirsig related the tale of the "motorbike that kept cutting out", after repeated visits the a workshop without a successful remedy, the motorbike was taken home where he stripped down the engine to discover the cause of the problem, a simple few pence pin in the oil delivery system. The moral of the tale is, I think, to determine the actual problem before attempting a fix; how often are political remedies created for problems that exist only in the minds of politicians.

So how does "Zen" and "Governance" sit with "Political Wales" circa 2011/12/13/14/15 ?

Firstly, the opposition in Wales is desperate to create problems to fix, there are the Nationalists that are asking for Policing and Broadcasting to be devolved to Wales, the Liberal Democrats have suggested that children aged 16 are competent to become members of the electorate, and the Conservative leader is advocating a return to the slaughter of animals as recreational sport. The common thread is each of the political groups are seeking advantage, Nationalist see further divergence from the UK, Liberal Democrats see the promised land ahead with teenager support, and Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies seems to be favouring political self destruction, the odd one out maybe.

So what about Carwyn Jones in government today, or soon to be back from holiday, we have today two calls, the "redistribution of wealth" and "Keynesian investment" in Wales, both could be the business of government, but should they be the business of our Assembly Government and how might Carwyn consider the issues.

John Dixon, former National Chair of Plaid Cymru, makes a call to redistribute the wealth within Wales, the essence of his paper is in a single paragraph where he writes ...

What Wales needs is an economic policy which doesn’t simply concentrate economic success in the most populous part of the country, but spreads it around. From a private sector perspective, that would require a more interventionist approach than simply allowing and encouraging businesses to set up where they wish (as long as it’s in Wales), which has effectively been the approach of successive Welsh Governments since 1999.

... the only questions that Carwyn's government needs to answer is the starter for ten "why do businesses prefer to establish themselves in the South East of Wales", and the bonus question "can these conditions be replicated throughout Wales".

Adam Higgitt asks a supplementary question in his last paragraph where he replies to John Dixon, "can the government create a policy that the whole population is able to support", an essential question with our "me culture".

For the answers to the three questions Carwyn needs to find a few honest men and women, and the certainty that doing what is good for Wales outweighs what is good for his politics, personally I think someone like Carwyn Jones could make political mileage from doing the "right thing for Wales" so shouldn't be shy in coming forward with the good news.

The second call on Carwyn is for "Keynesian investment", I hope there is someone in government who will remind him that without a link to the first question such government activity is indulgence when such indulgence is not affordable, indulgence by government should probably never be affordable. Going back to John Dixon, it's not intervention to coerce business into preferred areas, it is providing a level playing field, the rest is up the business ... and of course geography.

Going back to "So how does "Zen" and "Governance" sit with "Political Wales" circa 2011/12/13/14/15 ?" There is plenty of time Carwyn, get it right and you will be forgiven a multitude of sins, and looking at the time line, there's plenty of time thanks to Westminster.

Peter Black had an interesting post ...

2011-08-23T20:06:00.000+01:00

... when he listed 6 questions asked of Michael Ellis, the MP for Northampton North.

I felt the answers to questions 2 through to 6 were predictable, how else would a politician answer other than to let the world know his constituency and its electorate were as important as family. But question 1 was different ...

... it enquired of the politician who was his Biggest inspiration. ......... the answer he gave, "Winston Churchill" tells us a little of the MPs character, or does it, Churchill has been described variously as an exceptional statesman and orator, an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist, the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and he was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States, he was also considered to be a fair bricklayer. So exactly what inspired the politician.

I wonder how our Assembly politicians might have answered, I would have modified the question slightly too ...

... who was your biggest inspiration, and why ?

How might the part leaders have answered, how might the members of the government have replied, and how might the remaining Assembly members answered the very simple but searching question.

I did leave a comment with Peter Black asking how he might have replied to the question, having spoke to some of his constituency there is no doubt the man is held in high esteem, certainly he is not afraid to hold the Assembly Government to account, but I wonder who inspired him and why ........

Nice video ...

2011-08-22T19:46:00.001+01:00

... in the BBC report.

... I watched the film clip, read the report, and felt ......... well and truly mugged.

5 years jail as a minimum for Annunziatina Attanasio, thief of Cardiff.

How mugged do you feel ?

Our very own Wacky Races, with our very own ...

2011-08-22T12:19:00.000+01:00

... Dastardly and Muttley, one from Westminster the other from Cardiff's Bay of Plenty, both are agitating for something that already exists, something that is funded to the gunnel's by the poor taxpayer, but unlike Pobol y Cwm there isn't an audience big enough to suit their political egos, ...

Ego is a Latin word meaning "I", cognate with the Greek "Εγώ (Ego)" meaning "I", often used in English to mean the "self"

... not satisfied with the current Radio Cymru, not satisfied with the £80+ million annual budget of S4C, what exactly does the first of this dynamic Plaid duo want, to quote Bethan Jenkins ...

WELSH language current affairs programmes should be as important to the BBC as output in Hindi and Arabic, Plaid Cymru AM Bethan Jenkins has urged.

... I'll let others decide whether she is "Dastardly" or "Muttley", myself I would suggest the minorities she uses as examples would be very pleased to have a dedicated channel with the funding S4C currently receives, indeed the £billion spend on S4C during the last decade should have produced a world class welsh language service, it didn't.

What the desperate duo want is a soap box for free, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, someone might let them know. Who is the other half of our very own wacky race duo .............

Plums and feta on toast, not my ...

2011-08-21T20:10:00.001+01:00

... idea of a comfort food as feta is not a cheese made in my particular heaven, but I like a mature cheese, and not quite on our doorstep we have a wonderful Caerphilly cheese as a substitute, ...

for the feta devotee ...

Plums and feta on toast serving 4

Ingredients

Ciabatta or other rustic bread
Extra-virgin olive oil
200g feta, broken into chunks
2-4 ripe plums, stoned and quartered
A handful or two of rocket
A few mint leaves
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Toast the bread (if you’re using ciabatta, you will need either a horizontal half, cut into 4, or 2 ciabatta rolls, each sliced horizontally). Splash each bit of toast with extra-virgin olive oil while it’s still warm. Arrange the feta, plums, rocket and mint on top. Season with salt and pepper and splash with a bit more oil before serving.

The Ciabatta bread is definitely the right choice, wonderful, we made rolls using our favourite Wrights bread mix, though as I hinted at the beginning, adjusted the cheese using a mature Gorwydd Caerphilly made by Trethowan's Dairy, but for us bought from Caesar's Arms Farm Shop Cardiff, amazingly the cheese is exported around the world such is its reputation.

Use the best olive oil available, as always the better the oil, the better the gastronomic experience ...

... I can still taste the olive oil dip at Bravo Indianapolis, I think it was Castleton, but a decade is long time ago,just goes to show what good experiences can leave in the memory, and the Prawn Pennette Rigate with a hot pepper sauce was to die for.

When Jonathan Edwards, Plaid MP and Westminster rabble-rouser ...

2011-08-20T20:08:00.000+01:00

... calls for greater investment in existing Welsh TV services, he is calling to the nationalist faithful. He is saying ...

"That means stopping the cuts being made to S4C and BBC Wales and giving ITV Wales the scope for improvements. Wales must have a national television service worthy of the name, with quality programming that represents us as a nation."

He continues the rhetoric ...

"Welsh is an everyday language amongst audiences across Wales, and this must be reflected in the television services which they receive. Our priority here in Wales, though, must be improving and developing the level of Welsh news and current affairs rather than furthering the ill considered agenda of a Westminster minister."

This ill considered agenda is no agenda at all, Westminster believes the UK would benefit from local TV coverage, and the envisaged TV has to be self financing ... and that could be a problem, who wants to sponsor current affairs on "TV Swansea" when there is an opportunity to sponsor "Four Weddings and a Funeral" ... on ITV.

The bottom line for the separatist at work at Westminster is he wants three terrestrial channels ported to a Welsh platform working at the behest of and directed by the politics of Welsh Nationalism. Not once does the man offer a financial model to pay for his proposed extravaganza, he would like his scheme paid for by the taxpayers of Britain ....

.... in a world of shrinking budgets, the nationalists would expect a larger share, in the world of television they would like a louder voice, but only if it in Wales ...

Perfect peppers, in an imperfect world, ...

2011-08-20T09:58:00.002+01:00

... roast with a vinaigrette dressing, served with just about anything, though a newly baked crusty loaf would do very nicely, try a Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia made with Wrights bread mix.

Ingredients for 6 ... maybe 2 if the peppers are on the small side, and you are having lunch and the bread has just left the oven.

Extra virgin olive oil
6 red pepper, tip, as the peppers are for cooking you can use less than perfect examples.
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Method ...

1 Rub a little olive oil over the peppers, put them in an oven dish, then slide under a hot grill, turning regularly until they blister and blacken on all sides.
2 Put the peppers in a plastic bag (I used a large roasting bag left over from Christmas) tied at the end. Leave for 20 minutes to steam, then remove them from the bag, peel off the skins, slit them open and remove the seeds, reserving the cooking juices.
3 Spread the peppers out on a large serving dish and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix the cooking juices with an equal quantity of extra virgin olive oil and the vinegar and pour over the peppers

Thanks to Rowley Leigh of The Times, it is taken from a recipe that included eggs and anchovies.

Eggs and anchovies are not my ideal combination ....