The further up the flagpole you climb ...

... the more of your ass is exposed, words of General later President Eisenhower, so my guess he knew all about leadership, its ups and its downs.

So for the errant Plaid AM, consideration might be given to a valuable Eisenhower quotation ...

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both

Back down to earth and there is ...

Gerry Hassan (15 October 2012) wrote an open letter to Alex Salmond the Scots pretender to its political throne, the title ...

'Independence is about cultural and societal transformation'

... might generate a soupçon of interest from the political pundits scattered around the various halls of government, but to the little people the closure of Hall's of Broxburn meat factory in West Lothian has real interest, particularly the fact that the Scottish SNP led administration were unable to influence the decision making process of the Dutch owners Vion.  Impotent in the face of international business interests.

Unable to demonstrate real time leadership in 2012, what chance these very same politicians will be able transform Scotland's culture and society ...

.. absolutely zero !

Scottish independence is political in the narrowest sense, it has no benefit for the little people whose life will continue as before, in a 21st century serfdom with much the same masters !

 

What did Bethan Jenkins mean when ...

... 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.

... at the Plaid Cymru conference ...

... 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"

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

...  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 .............

Andrews, Bareham, Davies and Jenkins ...

Andrews is right yet wrong, he is right to applaud the efforts of students, but wrong to hold up the Welsh Baccalaureate as an excuse for poor comparative results with the rest of Britain, he is also wrong to ignore the need for top A* grades as the entry level for the best universities, our university potential students need top grades for top universities, there is little point aspiring to the 2nd division.

Unfortunately Andrews needs to look at our 5 year old, do you remember the 7 P's, Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, it can be equally applied to education because children need good preparation to succeed, this is the last chance saloon for the next generation of graduates in Wales.  Time to start work as the hourglass sand is inexorable trickling away.

Lindsey Bareham, familiar to readers of The Times, 
might be saying "let them eat rice", but what rice ...

Vodka Plums with rice pudding ...

Serves 6  prep: 20 min, cook: 2½ hours plus cooling
 
Ingredients

50g butter; 75g caster sugar; 100g pudding rice; 1 litre full-fat milk; 1 vanilla pod; 150ml double cream; Pinch of salt; Nutmeg; 2 bay leaves; ½ vanilla pod; 300ml water; 3 strips orange zest; 3 tbsp vodka; 3 tbsp demerara sugar; 6 large, ripe plums
 
Method
Heat the oven to 140C/gas 1.
Melt the butter in a 1½ litre pan that can take direct heat and go in the oven, or begin cooking, in a sauté pan and have a deep gratin dish to transfer the pudding into.
Add the sugar, stirring gently over a medium-low heat until straw-coloured and gooey.
Add the rice and continue stirring, until the rice looks puffy, pale golden and syrup-sticky.
Add the milk, stirring as it heats to disperse any clumps of rice.
Add the vanilla pod (split lengthways) and squash it around a bit so that it releases its seeds.
Add cream and salt and bring to the boil.
Season generously with freshly grated nutmeg, stir then place in the oven for 2 ½-3 hours, until just starting to set but still slightly liquid looking in the centre.
Leave to cool.
As it cools, it will firm slightly more. Serve lukewarm or cold as milk puddings have very little flavour eaten piping hot.
Place bay leaves, half a vanilla pod, 300ml water, zest and vodka in a pan that can accommodate the halved plums in a single layer.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the sugar to dissolve.
Halve the plums round their middles.
Twist apart and pull out the stone.
Place, cut side uppermost, in the pan.
Cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat, turn the plums, leave for 5 minutes then transfer to a serving bowl and leave to go cold.

Davies is holding today's poisoned chalice ...

The director of Wales' Community Health Councils (CHCs) said The Welsh Language Board requirements under the Welsh Language Act were "unrealistic" unless there were additional funding, it seems the organisation is between a rock and a hard place, a no win situation for the public if Davies has to make a decision between "translation" and "NHS monitoring", I wonder what the financial implications across the board will be, how much extra money will the various organisation in Wales need, exactly how will the First Minister handle the situation.  ?It begs the question "what services will need trimming to fund the requirements".


Could this be exactly why we need tax raising powers in Wales, so that the public can be made aware of the effect of legislation on their pockets, so that the public can say yea or nay and politicians stay focused.

... and coming up in the rear is ...

Jenkins ...I have it good authority she is sulking.

Bethan Jenkins has announced ...

... that she will be developing her thoughts on the future of Plaid Cymru in the weeks to come.

Well, lets get down to the nitty gritty,  the heart of the matter,  the basic essentials,  the harsh realities of life in the United Kingdom for the separatist agenda, a single most basic fact of political life, Wales has lost its radical past to the hedonistic materialistic future.

The peoples of Wales, we are multicultural, along with the peoples of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland came to realise quite a while ago that we are only on this planet just once, so we best make the most of it, be happy is the clarion call even when things seem a tad negative.

Our nationalist combatants (they are not particularly friendly towards any other political parties in Britain, other than other separatist parties) on the other hand have tried to wrap up their jingoistic objectives in a cultural pastry;  much like salmon en croute, though the cultural pastry used by our separatist neighbours in Wales comes with a large dose of bile mixed with a suitably large quantity of insulting abuse to those who would oppose independence.

That's the nice part, the Welsh Nationalists have over the last 20 years or more tried to become everything to everyone, if you wished for pink tomatoes then the nationalists would campaign for your pink tomatoes, more than anything the separatist movement needed to increase its membership, and although the membership increased, its direction had become octopus like ...

... Plaid had looked into the abyss of Nietzsche unaware that the abyss had looked right back at them, the abyss is of course "British Politics", Plaid Cymru by looking into the abyss had adopted many of the attributes of British Politics, become just another political party that would bribe the electorate with their own taxes.  But during the last 10 years devolution in Wales had created a new playing field, a field that would allow politics in Wales to become divorced to a degree from the politics of Great Britain, and could be moulded through cultural nonsense into a new arena that Plaid might play a larger role in public life.  It worked for them, however it created far greater challenges for the "well to the left separatist agenda", gradually the "we were here first" political brigade became as Welsh as Welsh could become, and began to challenge the need for a party such as Plaid Cymru, whose intention is to separate from the United Kingdom.

Inside Plaid Cymru those that held the puppet strings had decided a decade or more before to take the softly-softly approach to gaining power, no longer using the "independence" word, they became even more mainstream, much to the chagrin of the "young turks", and the young turks bring me back to the beginning, how will this woman of politics, she knows little else than politics, develop her thoughts ...

... let me predict, the likes of Jenkins and her activist chums have a single objective, to bring their politics to the front row of her party, and what are her politics, what are those feelings deep within her chest, what is it that is about to be birthed ...

... I don't think on reflection that it is the urgency of independence, although it will be a rhetorical priority, I do believe it will be gender specific; she dropped a very large hint at Wales Home today, the 4th paragraph, she is backing a movement within the party for a female leader, Jill Evans MEP who will also bring independence to the forefront of Wales politics.

And the proof of the pudding is in the very next paragraph when she writes ...

This kind of obsession with the individual echoes down the years in Plaid Cymru, that we can rely upon a single person to save the party – and save us from losing elections.

And the person in question is always a man.

Spicy pinto bean soup or Plaids Bethan Jenkins, ...

... that's a question indeed, a delicious deep bowl of soup or shallow plate of politics from the "separatist agenda", make up your own mind ...

For the soup you need ...

Ingredients, for 4 ...

100g dried pinto beans,  2 tbsp butter,  1 tbsp olive oil,  1 red onion, chopped,  2 garlic cloves, chopped,  1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced,  2 carrots, chopped,  2 tsp chilli powder,  2 tsp ground cumin,  2 bay leaves,  1.5 litres vegetable stock,  400g tin of chopped tomatoes,  Sea salt,  1 small iceberg lettuce finely shredded,  Soured cream,  Leaves from a small bunch of fresh coriander,  Lime wedges

Method ...

1 Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Drain and set aside.
2 Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan, set over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper, carrots and a pinch of salt.
3 Cook for 10 minutes, until softened. Stir in the chilli powder, cumin and bay leaves. Cook for 1 minute, until aromatic.
4 Increase the heat to high. Add the stock, tomatoes and beans and bring to the boil. Reduce to a medium simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, until the beans are tender.
5 Serve topped with shredded lettuce, a dollop of soured cream and a few coriander leaves. Offer lime wedges on the side. 

Recipe by Ross Dobson of The Times, what a fine newspaper.

Having enjoyed the bowl of soup what has Jenkins got to offer, either the electorate or Plaid "the separatist agenda" Cymru ?

Her history is school and Plaid Cymru, so we can expect an introspective view of the world coupled with a vision of an independent left wing utopia, was it learned at the hearth of her father the long-term co–editor of Red Poets.I wonder ?

Today she opens a discussion regarding the Plaid leadership contest, a faction within Plaid would like to change the rules so that non-elected members might race for the coveted leaders badge, a little like the blue-peter badge without the excitement, and in a democracy it should be possible to elect anyone to the position of party leader, though why any party would want a leader that doesn't have a platform is puzzling.

Interesting though, some elected members of the Assembly see the next leader as a caretaker-in-waiting for the return of the native Adam Price, Plaid AM Lindsay Whittle is on record as writing "Whoever will be our new leader must now recognise it’s an interim post in my opinion."

So the contest hereabouts between the soup or Jenkins, do I see the beginnings of a double chin in her image, is won hands down by ....

... the "Spicy Pinto Bean Soup", considered to be interesting and flavoursome with a hint of things yet to come ...
... the runner up is same-old, same-old Plaid politics delivered by 2nd division politics ...

Plaid has looked into the abyss, and ...

... the abyss has looked right back.  The abyss that looks back is British politics, Plaid politico has become just another political party of the left in Britain, fortunately for Britain, and unfortunately for Plaid, Britain has the Labour Party warts and all.

With Plaid politico relegated to the backwaters of North West Wales, there remains Plaid buffoonery, the party in the park, the pig in a poke that appeals to the disturbed, the "Separatist Agenda".  The separatist agenda is the wedge that has begun the process of destruction for the Plaid Cymru of 2011, what will rise phoenix like out of the ashes.

I have a single source within Plaid politico, and this source confirms that moves are being made by the buffoonery to change the rules that only allow an elected member of the party to lead Plaid Cymru, it is understand that during the autumn conference a move to change the constitution will be made.

The preferred candidate of the buffoonery is ner do well "Price of the USA", there is of course a fan club for the man, Bethan Jenkins and Leanne Wood to name two politicians and the political journalist Betsan Powys whom many believe to be a closet nationalist on first name terms with MH the buffoon in chief amongst Plaid political blogs, in the wings we can find ex-plaid chair John Dixon who might be considered the early catalyst for the Plaid disintegration when he resigned the chair.

Peter Black highlighted the poor quality of Plaid politicians earlier today, when he highlighted our erstwhile Plaid politician Bethan Jenkins calling Martin Shipton by the name of Matt Withers, she was twittering at the time, could that be the excuse of a twit.

For those whose studies did not include Nietzsche, he's a tricky sucker at the best of times, his abyss is explained to us normal mortals as ...

"The abyss looks back at you means that when you begin to know something that is fundamentally different from yourself, you take a piece of it with you and it changes you."

Plaid has changed and the young turks want it back.

Power and Responsibility, those ...

... attributes we naively thought the great and the good would exercise on our behalf as a norm with its excesses only appearing rarely, how wrong we have been.

As a subscriber to The Times and The Sunday Times, paper and on-line, I have helped finance through News International Newspapers Limited some of the excesses of public life being debated in the media around the world.  As Matthew Paris wrote in today's Times ...

Please don't protest: "I didna ken." C'mon reader, ye ken ...

1. prison officers complicit in the supply of drugs ...
2. banks or energy suppliers. ... cartels, robbing their customers.
3.  Many sporting records that still stand ... have been fuelled by performance-enhancing drugs
4. Insider trading. It’s absolutely endemic
5. The stock exchange has all but lost its original purpose — the financing of new business...
6. Insurance has become an almighty racket, ... citizens parted from billions by the unscrupulous sale ...
7. The policing of the criminal law is riddled with corruption.
8. This goes for the Crown Prosecution Service too.
9. The easing of credit ... that will strangle (us) them when interest rates rise.
10. Dentistry and the NHS ... Where’s the market?
11. The way that British ministers and mandarins ... to take up positions on the boards of companies in the fields that they have until recently supervised is an absolute disgrace. We’re not talking shades of grey here. It’s outrageous.
12. So is the “government-relations” lobbying industry.
13. The social services departments of local authorities are an incompetent and occasionally vicious element in public administration, particularly as regards child protection.
14. The way children get allocated to state schools is indefensible, and a huge anxiety to parents.
15. The public sector is chronically incapable even of understanding, let alone managing, large IT projects; and private sector contractors are guilty of daylight robbery.
16. When all is told there will have been some shocking war crimes in Afghanistan
17. Euro-MPs’ expenses. Enough said.
18. EU budgeting. Enough said.
19. Lawyers. That the practice of law in England has for centuries been a stitch-up to enrich a professional monopoly
20. August will be unusually dry or wet.

... there is a perfect storm coming, and now is the best time for that storm when money is tight, when the people who will always pick up the tab have nothing else to lose, when politics and politicians will be held to account for the excesses, because Power and Responsibility rests with "Parliaments" ... and with those people who manage the organisations we do business with, every aspect of the business from employee welfare to customer satisfaction.

I discovered recently that parliament is a collective noun for a group of owls or rooks, wise owls or noisy rooks I wonder.

Carwyn Jones and the Welsh Assembly Government would do well to keep their heads down for some of the debris caused by this perfect storm in waiting could very well be coming our way.


... the thunderer reminds us that ".. you must own your mistakes, or your mistakes will own you", Bethan Jenkins might like to take that little ditty on board.

In fact, is there a dragon ...

... anywhere in Wales, a docile dragon for Heledd Fychan and her boss Bethan Jenkins.

Where is the fire and brimstone remembered by the old folk, tales of the chapel and 5 hour sermons; we have become secular in Wales, except when there is a chance TV appearance on Songs of Praise with Aled Jones.  The days when the poor pregnant unmarried girl would be chastised in public, in front of the whole congregation are long gone.  So no dragon here .....


We have the Catalan kid of course, but his is more a desperate appeal to the disparate of Wales, building theoretical castles amongst the clouds surrounding Snowdon;  No dragons here, though I can imagine conversations in the snug of a pub in the Northern Plaid heartlands, or maybe the geography is wrong and it is the Cardiff smart set, cymraig naturally.


Do we have a dragon in the borough of Caerphilly I wonder, Ron Davies might be a candidate, though on reflection ... first the Labour Party, then it was "Forward Wales" followed by a stint as an independent, and finally he jumps into bed ( rhetorically speaking ) with Plaid to get a thrashing at the Assembly elections; formally Secretary of State for Wales he was once called the architect of devolution in Wales, nothing to be proud of and certainly not a dragon, except in a moment of maddness.

We remain dragon deficient except possibly on match night when tens of thousand of fans descend on Cardiff breathing fire and brimstone ........... here be the dragons ........... until they get home when they morph from dragon into the family pet some call dad.

Modified following a comment left at my migration blog.

I wonder, does the dragon have two tongues ...

... or might it have a forked tongue.  You can decide for yourself, read it here.

The essence of the article is, I believe ...

If people want to write in Welsh, then they are welcome to do so providing they spend another hour at the end translating it into English. Furthermore, some people were concerned that they were being excluded from the debate, and that whilst it is fine for people to speak Welsh, if they want to write about an issue of national importance, it is their duty to do so in English so that everyone can understand. Even if, it seems, that the article in question is about the Welsh language channel, S4C!
These comments angered me. But, rather than just arguing with people on twitter about it, I wanted to widen the debate so that we have the opportunity to discuss maturely why some people felt so aggrieved by our decision to publish something in Welsh.
Being bilingual, and having the right to use both my languages as I like is important to me. Welsh is my first language, and I find it extremely offensive if people suggest that I don’t have the right to use it as I wish in my own country. It is an integral part of me. I think in Welsh. I dream in Welsh. I write my diary and write my daily to-do list in Welsh. I’m not trying to be difficult, awkward, stubborn or offensive. I’m not trying to exclude you or take a stance. I’m simply being me. I express myself better in Welsh, and feel more comfortable speaking in Welsh rather than in English.

penned by Heledd Fychan who chairs Plaid Cymru's research group

Is she correct, is it unreasonable to expect an English translation of Welsh language contributions to a blog such as Wales Home, of course it is unreasonable, but the contribution is not authored by Heledd Fychan, we are discussing a paper written and signed off by Bethan Jenkins, a Welsh Assembly politician, concerning an organisation with a budget of £100 million of British taxpayers money, such objections that I have made are very reasonable.

I believe the staff of Bethan Jenkins have protested too much, the public were initially excluded from the conversation at Wales Home, and the proof rests with the Plaid Cymru website where both versions are available.  If Bethan Jenkins and her staff were truly inclusive in this matter they would have waited until both Plaid Cymru versions were complete and then offered the contribution for publishing at the Wales Home website so that everyone was included, unless of course it wasn't meant to be inclusive. 

Should the S4C conversation be restricted ...

... to Welsh speakers, or should the debate be thrown open to all who would contribute, contribute both money and ideas.

At Wales Home the conversation is in Welsh with a paper by Bethan Jenkins Plaid Cymru AM [the photo needs updating] titled "angen-chwyldro-yn-s4c" , unfortunately for myself, and I suggest many others, it is in Welsh without an accompanying translation, as are the following comments.  It is true that Google translates the text so that as Heledd Fychan writes "... an excellent way to get the gist of the article if you can’t wait for the translation!" Now the "gist" of the debate falls far short of a "conversation", and if the supporters of S4C want a £100 million contribution from the taxpayers I suggest all the voices of Wales should be included, or at least be able to follow the thread with all the subtleties that a language can bring.

Would I have been critical if the conversation had been about the keeping of orchids, absolutely not, but where topics relate to the communities living in Wales I would like the opportunity to contribute, particularly when the conversation is started by a Welsh Assembly member.

So, am I being overly sensitive, I don't think so, whilst Bethan Jenkins might have the best intentions, she and her team have indulged in "exclusion", an unworthy characteristic in politics.

... Wood, Jenkins, Gruffydd, Whittle and Wyn Jones, just a ...

... disgrace.  Unrepresentative, undistinguished and unbelievably crass, the Plaid five who demonstrated to the peoples of Britain the perversity of nationalism, there is only their way, a very spiteful way, children in a political playground who throw their toys over the wall.  So from Queen a message ...

For those who might like the lyrics alone ...

Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo' face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'

We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you

Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo' face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place
Singin'

We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you

Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day
You got mud on your face
You big disgrace
Somebody better put you back in your place

We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you

From the rest of us to the political disgrace of Wales, until the majority say otherwise, Queen Elizabeth II is our democratic Head of State .......... 

... and as my daughter added .......... "don't dis my Queen".

Llyr Huws Gruffydd, Bethan Jenkins and Leanne Wood are elected ...

... representatives yet they will not represent the views of those they represent, by their intended actions during the visit by our Queen, the Head of State on Tuesday next.  They are regional members for North Wales, South Wales West and South Wales Central respectively, they are all Plaid Cymru members for whom they sit at the Assembly.  In each case, were they candidates fighting the traditional "First Past The Post" election in their home constituency they would have been beaten by the Labour Party.

Where will this scandalous trio be during the opening ceremony of the National Assembly, not certain for sure, Woods is reported in the South Wales Echo as packing food parcels for the needy, laudable you might think, but remember she is supposed to be representing the constituents of South Wales, she is not employed by the people to pack parcels.

There is another event in Cardiff that day during the evening, "Cardiff Bay Republican Day" taking place at Mischiefs Cafe Bar in James Street in Cardiff Bay, and the trio is reported to be attending to "give allegiance to Wales", silly the rest of us, we all thought that particular allegiance had been taken during the swearing in of Assembly Members.

There is rumour that Lyndsay Whittle, another regional member for Plaid, will be joining the disreputable trio at the Mischiefs Cafe Bar, as yet there is no sign of the event on the Cafe Bar's website, from Caerphilly the message is "well done Lyndsay, run with the rats of Cardiff Bay but remember, you would have lost to Labour in a real election".

... and from Plaid Cymru, the separatist party of Wales, not a murmur, so let us assume the trio, or could it be a quartet, have the tacit approval of the party hierarchy ...

... myself, I think this group of politicians are pathetic in the extreme, if they are off to the bar during the official opening, quaffing Dom Perignon at £119.95 a bottle, or even a Sauvignon at £24.99 a bottle (they have a very good Sancerre "Le Mont Flueuri" on the wine list), can we expect the cost of the day on members expenses, will they be caught on camera singing along in their cups for a photo shoot?

Whatever they do, they will not be at the Assembly representing the electorate of Wales (not sure about Lindsay since Duncan left a comment), but we must be grateful, if this were Bahrain or Persia this disgraceful group would probably be on trial for their dissent, here in Wales the dissenters are free to offend the majority and be paid annually £53,852 it is a shame they do not do their duty as the electorate wish them.

Do you know the Lord Peter ...

... who comments at WalesOnline, his latest can be found here where the discussions are regarding BBC cuts.

He writes ...

What’s all the fuss about? BBC Wales and S4C will have to merge .With the BBC Wales funding and now the burden of S4C set to being picked up through the licence fee, Wales will have a disproportionately large amount of money given to broadcasting.

If certain a sports programme or broadcasts in Welsh don't attract audiences, so what? Scrap them! It isn't rocket science.

The Boneheaded remark from shadow minister Owen Smith that “Our broadcasters must have the resources to properly reflect our distinct culture, history and heritage.” Is complete tosh.

On no they don’t, that is not what broadcasters are there for, and it is that sort of politicising everything in Wales that has ruined our education and health services as well as burdening the whole of the U.K. with the £100millon + bill for the doomed, unnecessary, and pointless S4C in the first place.

The days of the Welsh speaking TAFFIA elite having influence over the vast majority of people in Wales will have to come to an end, with the tail wagging the dog no more.

This Government is giving the whole of the U.K. a long overdue wakeup call in many respects, and BBC Wales joining the real world is just one of them.

A different point of view to our local politicians, Bethan Jenkins for example has written here about the great damaging impact it will have, unfortunately it is in Welsh, the Google translation is not particularly good, maybe she should present an English translation as she used to, or maybe not, there is sufficient Plaid propaganda in the world.

Then Mathew Rees continues ...

I mostly agree with Lord Peter. I am a Welsh speaker and worked for BBC Wales and the idleness and complacency there is SHOCKING.

If Wales wants its own TV channel, that's fine but you can't expect the rest of the UK to prop it up when virtually nobody watches the channel. It should either be an online-only thing paid for by subscription or 3-4 hours of quality programming every night similar to BBC Alba.

I am proud of Wales and to be Welsh but from what I saw, people in that building would be stacking shelves if they didn't speak Welsh, while Welsh people who don't speak the language have little hope of getting a foothold on the media career ladder.

This is a long time coming and a long time deserved, I'm sorry to say.

... at First Minister’s Questions Bethan Jenkins continued her whinging and whining, she said:

“Given the shocking news of cuts this morning from London to BBC Wales’ budget and to the programmes of BBC Wales as well as the uncertainties facing S4C, would you now ask DCMS [the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport] to devolve broadcasting to Wales so we can protect programming here in Wales.”

Can you imagine the tripe that would come from devolved broadcasting if it became the prerogative of political guidance, sorry Ms. Jenkins, you would need to convince the majority that your ideas of broadcasting could in any way be described as wanted, and of course there is the question of finance, would the number of households in Wales generate sufficient funds to satisfy the foibles of politics at the Assembly.
 

A trivial comedy for serious people ...

... is how The Importance of Being Earnest has been described, its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make it Wilde's most enduringly popular play.  In Wales on the other hand we are fed a diet of the ridiculous from a certain Assembly Member, Bethan Jenkins, Plaid South West regional list, one who has no direct mandate from the electorate, is proposing a "federal" structure for local BBC, with money for Wales etc ....

Her problem, a simple issue, she needs, along with her separatist friends, a platform for propaganda, a platform paid for by the licence fee payers. Her words ".... believed in devolved broadcasting "because we have seen how [UK Culture Secretary] Jeremy Hunt has treated S4C with contempt"."  It's not our Culture Secretary she should be concerned with, it is taxpayers like myself who would back a call to create a pay to view S4C so the viewers become the final arbiters on its future.

Carwyn Jones, on the other hand, said he had written to Mr Hunt, saying, "We must ensure that the BBC gives the people of Wales the service that they should receive in order to ensure that they know what goes on in their own country."

The most worrying part of this local comedy being played out by Jenkins and Co is it is not based on any credible truth, a BBC spokesperson said: "We have made it clear that local, regional and national services will continue to be at the heart of what we do."

When AM Bethan Jenkins says ...

... "BBC Wales plays a crucial role in the cultural, political and social identity of our nation and cuts like these would seriously undermine that", I wonder what she means. Report.

... what is this crucial cultural identity,
... what is this crucial political identity,
... what is this crucial social identity.

What is this role ?

I think that without political BBC in Wales the more eccentric political groups might find life difficult, and there lies the real issue, politicians need a free platform to peddle their wares; cynical politics at work here.

It's good news week in Wales ...

... Plaid has taken a thumping and the message from Caerphilly is thanks, but no thanks;  Plaid Cymru believed that Davies would add an apparent huge personal following to the last election count, wrong, the last election count was an anomaly, it was a vote for Davies in a tantrum having thrown his political toys out of the Caerphilly Labour bath water.  This man's last word on his defeat are "It's very sad, it undermines the whole point of devolution", what a fool he is, nobody wanted him ...


 ... and Jeff Cuthbert, well we voted for him to keep Plaid out, it wasn't necessary, but it's always best to be be safe than sorry, and although I wouldn't cross the road to congratulate our winner, he has been a good representative for the electorate during the last Assembly session.  A last word on Ron "turncoat - moment of madness" Davies, it's time for the man to get a job that doesn't involve putting his hands in the taxpayers pockets, retire Davies, retire today.

I tried to leave a comment at Wales Home, the account has been suspended ... I wrote ..

... waking to the news that Caerphilly rejected Plaid's Ron Davies was a little like waking Christmas morning, well done Jeff Cuthbert, thank you Santa ...

... and more good news from Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South, today it really is good news week  ...



Plaid have lost an Assembly mouth of quite large proportions, no doubt Evans will remain on the political scene through the patronage of Plaid, John Dixon's job is available after all ...

... and "all hail the electorate in Llanelli, Helen Mary "hush I know what's best for you" Jones has been given a political kicking by Labour, and it seems, a large proportion who feel she "didn'tput Llanelli first",



Unfortunately it seems Bethan "I have a vision with my green tinted glasses" Jenkins will take her perverse nationalist views back to the Assembly as will Leanne "left of Lenin" Wood,  well we cannot have everything, but second or third division politicians being elected for Plaid is perversely good news for Wales as they are not taken seriously outside the Assembly walls.

A tale of two ...

... cities,  no a tale of two people, a politician seeking ways to lighten your pockets, and a businessman with an idea that works, in fact a blueprint to rejuvenate the Wales economy. 

The politician is a regional addition for South Wales West, well to the left of Lenin, much like her poet father, Bethan Jenkins.  To read in full her pathetic offering to the unemployed of Wales in full try Wales Home, in fact lets not bother with a précis , it has so little depth jump to her pathetic offering, it proposes more museums to the past in the hope that people will be attracted in such numbers to overwhelm our tourist industry, much like the National Botanic Garden of Wales, nice idea, no business plan.

The businessman is a different kettle of fish, his idea works ...

.... and presents a model for Wales, where is the WDA, oops, politicians abolished it .........

The word on the street is Pieminister is moving from Bristol to Llantrisant, here's hoping that maybe Bethan Jenkins could take her political pies to Bristol, Wales would be the winner ......... and the business model, educate our young people and have funds to fill the gaps left by personal guarantee and bank loans, you see Bethan Jenkins, it is business ideas and money that create prosperity, not ........... Plaid Pie in the Sky.