Cameron learning from Ireland

It's good to seem the Conservative leader David Cameron taking time out to see what the British state can learn from the economic success of the Irish Republic.

Of course, he could just have asked some Welsh nationalists and saved the air fair. The root of Ireland's success is their independence. If Ireland was still a part of the UK she'd have 'benefited' from decades of state subsidy and then like Wales or Scotland been stuck on it.

The Irish have learnt many lessons but it all comes down to independence. They just had to learn to swim or drown. The best argument for Welsh independence would be that it would force us to grown up and learn to swim. We'd have to have a strong economy to balance our budget and stop the massive brain drain that we are still witnessing (and which, were we an island or East European state, would be the topic of countless articles and policies).

Labour doesn't want Wales to be too successful because we wouldn't be so dependent on their bribes (erm, state support). The Tories would have all to gain from an independent Wales and Scotland - guaranteed majority party in England and good neighbours. Independence would also force many Welsh nationalists to stop trying to out-left-wing Labour.

Independence forces a country to grow up and make the most of its resources and abilities - that's the lesson Cameron and all Welsh people should take from the success of Ireland. Would Ireland want to swap places with Wales's useless Assembly? Would they have managed the Celtic Tiger economy with a useless Assembly? What do you think?

Lib Dem Councillor insults Muslims

The Liberal Democrats polled over 7,000 votes at the last general election in the old mining town of Pontypridd, but do the voters really know who and what they are voting for?

Readers of this blog may recall one of RCT's Lib Dem Councillors calling Plaid Cymru voters ‘sickos’ and 'down right scum!' Well Lib Dem Councillor Mike Powell’s best friend and former employee, Liberal Democrat Pontypridd Town Councillor Stephen Farr - also known as 'Viking' - has been spotted contributing to a web forum that has become well known as a hotbed for racist and homophobic mistruths and sheer gutter slime.

Viking, stated on the voy.com Pontypridd & Valleys Message Board that a certain convicted member of the Muslim community chewed off his hands due to the lack of pork scratchings and lager in his diet, comments you certainly would not expect to be made by a person in his position.

viking, Friday, February 10, 16:21:43 - voy.com
you forgot pork scatchins and lager no wonder the hook chewed his hands off

Do the people of Pontypridd really want an elected Councillor that holds such views? Surley not!

What’s in a Name 3?

The other interesting point is old Leighton Andrews's reds under the beds scare about 'Senedd' being a name given by the 'Welsh establishment' (read Welsh-speakers). Run that past me again? Welsh establishment? That would be the Labour Party in Wales surely. You know, the party which as mismanaged most of Wales for most of the last hundred years, and then blames everyone else when their constituents have crap facilities.

It seems for Andrews and other British nationalists, they should never be in a situation where they'd have to learn a few words of Welsh. Andrews doesn't mind Welsh-speakers as long as they know their place, don't 'push' Welsh on other Welsh people, and keep their language to themselves. The almost racist paranoia of a 'Welsh-speaking establishment' is a constant part of the British nationalists black propaganda strategy.

But, there is one striking omission from this paranoia. That is the person who embodies the Welsh-speaking establishment par excellence, one Rhodri Morgan AM and First Minister, son of a Professor of Welsh and brother of respected, softly-Welsh-spoken emeritus professor of history.

But, then maybe, this 'Welsh-speaking establishment' business is really Andrews and Huw (in the interest of not pushing Welsh names where there are English ones, surely, shouldn't he be 'Hugh'?) Lewis AM's sneaky way of attacking Rhodri Morgan?

For British nationalist Labour AMs and MPs it's simple. They should never be in a situation where they have to learn to say a new Welsh word. They can't be so honest any more, so they insist that everything should be 'bilingual' - two languages for Welsh speakers, and one for English speakers!

What’s in a Name 2?

So, lets get this right? Two monoglot English speaking AMs, the British nationalists Labour members, Leighton Andrews and Huw/Hugh Lewis complain about the new monolingual Welsh names for parts of the new Assembly building, namely 'Senedd', 'oriel', 'cyntedd' etc.

Leaving aside the debate about the validity of calling such a useless body a 'senedd' (parliament), there's another vital point. Hugh/Huw Lewis and Andrews are cultural nationalists who will fight for the right of monoglot English speakers never ever to be in a situation were they may have to learn a new word in another language, well, Welsh to be precise.

The two English language cultural nationalists are fighting for the right of perceived ethnic community (monoglot English-speakers in Wales) to stay pure and monoglot English-speaking. Meanwhile, when other Welsh people fight for the right of communities which have been Welsh-speaking since two millennia to retain some semblance of monolingualism as a moral right and only feasible way of giving status to the language, they're hounded as being 'narrow minded' or 'racists'.

So, monoglot English speaking is good and inclusive. But wishing to promote the indigenous language of this country - which is now a minority language because of the deliberate colonial policies of the British state and the power of Anglo-American mass culture - is bad and exclusive.

One good thing about this 'Senedd' business - it's brought these gut British nationalists feelings out to the open. For Andrews and Lewis, English-speakers in Wales (as in other colonies) have a God-given right never to have to learn a single word from another language, especially if that language is the indigenous colonised language. English cultural nationalists of the world unite!

What’s in a Name 1?

We don't feel particularly strongly about calling the new Assmebly building a ‘Senedd’ or not. This business of giving Welsh names to parts of the new building; ‘senedd’, ‘oriel’, ‘cwrt’ etc. could be seen by some Welsh nationalists as tokenism to give Welsh some status.

But, seeing that Welsh has suffered centuries of colonial policies in administration and education, then it’s on hardly a level playing field as English, so the ‘tokenism’ is understandable. Giving a Welsh name is a simple way of giving it status and parlance in the one building which owes its existence to the concept of Welsh nationhood - a concept which couldn’t exist without the uniqeness of the Welsh language.

If British nationalist Labour AMs such as Leighton Andrews don’t like these Welsh names for the Assembly, then his party could offer another strategy to normalise Welsh. How about something meaningful such as a New Welsh Language Act?

But then, his boss, Rhodri Morgan, called this boring, boring, boring. If that’s too radical, how about just implementing his own government’s Iaith Pawb language strategy? After all – its their baby after all! Maybe then they’d find supporters of the Welsh language would be more relaxed with English-language cultural nationalists like themselves.

Welsh Labour British nationalist-speak #1

Just so that you can read between the lines:

Crachach

Just about the only Welsh word many Labour MPs and AMs can say. 'Crachach’ literally means a scab that forms on a wound. It was historically used to describe members of the landed gentry in Wales. In Welsh Labour British Nat speak it means Welsh-speakers, pretty much all Welsh-speakers really except those whose fathers were Professors of Welsh and whose siblings are Emeritus Professors of History, like erm, Rhodri Morgan. But he's OK because he never kicks up a fuss about his mother tongue because that's boring, boring, boring see?

One Wales

Faux Welsh patriotism, really dog-whistling for Welsh-language campaigners to shut up and know their place. English is now the majority language in Wales and we're going to keep it that way. One Wales - One Language, with gimmicks for Welsh. One Wales - One Party.

Assembly hasn't bedded down

Particular Neath dialect used by one P Hain. The Assembly can't have more powers because people think the Welsh Labour-run Assembly are second-rate amateurs. Ergo - Labour in Cardiff Bay are no good.