What has Tony Blair done for us?
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
During the election campaign, Tony Blair made one fleeting visit to Wales. Even that was enough for the Beeb's Betsan Powys, who struggled to pin him down for an interview.By contrast, Blair made four visits to Scotland. Also by contrast, Labour lost Scotland and hung on in Wales.
It's probably fair to say that by 2007, Blair isn't quite the same electoral asset he was. "Give him the send off he deserves," cried Plaid Cymru's election advert - evidently believing Tony Blair deserved an ambivalent election result followed by continual flitting between various different coalition permutations.
So, in ten years, what has TB done for us?
Devolution. Yes, that's a big one.
Alun Michael. Not such a big one.
Introduced top-up fees so the assembly could scrap them. Bit of a messy one.
We've been called the 'F*cking Welsh' for daring not to vote Labour in droves and he's been called Lionel for not being someone more famous at Rhodri Morgan's mum's breakfast table.
But otherwise?
Answers on a Best of Luck in your New Job card please...
Labels: Alun Michael, devolution, resignation, Tony Blair, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 10:26 am,
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Giggs buggers off
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Just as David Beckham is relaunching his England career, his former teammate Ryan Giggs has decided that Saturday's game against the Czech Republic will be his last for Wales.The idea of 'retiring' from international football has always struck me as odd. I don't think any self-respecting countryman should give up on the chance to represent his nation.
In truth, Giggs has always been a bit iffy about turning out for Wales. And if he's not keen on carrying on, he should take his hairy little frame back to Manchester for good. He's the captain, for God's sake. What sort of message does that give out? If at first you don't succeed, give up and have a personalitiless sulk with Paul Scholes?
The bailing out culture of modern football has got to stop. These guys are paid astronomical amounts of money and whether they like it or not they are role models to children all over the globe. With John Toshack snubbing experienced pros and experienced pros snubbing John Toshack, there's a real lack of quality in the current Wales camp. Giggs is hanging us out to dry.
Labels: international football, retire, Ryan Giggs, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 4:50 pm,
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What floats your vote?
Friday, April 13, 2007
The sun is out, the memory of Cardiff City's ineptitude is beginning to fade and the frying pan burn I've inflicted on my face has healed just enough to allow me to suck on my first Cadbury's Creme Egg of the year. 'Tis truly a glorious day. And so, I've decided to be positive for once.
No trawling through other blogs looking for inconsistencies, no cruel lookalikes of Assembly Members and no smug analyses. Because today I'm beginning to decide who should get my vote on May 3rd and I want to make a decision for the best possible reasons.
The worst kind of floating voters in assembly elections float right on past their local polling stations. Thankfully, I'm not one of those. But I do have a float factor of about 60%. I suppose I'm more of an aero than a packet of quavers in that respect.
I'm a graduate, I've just acquired my first car and I'm in need of a job and somewhere to live. Nasty people want me to give them in excess of twelve grand just because I dared to get myself an education and I sort of feel Welsh, given that I sat through that 5-1 drubbing against Slovakia and still had the balls to go back for the next game.
I'm not going to rush into anything, but Plaid's £5,000 towards a first home is certainly the most eye-catching policy in the homecare department.* Still, the Tories have put forward a radical green agenda and I like the Lib Dems' apparent willingness to legislate in favour of our country's cultural wellbeing. As for Labour, I've had my doubts that they are truly a party for my generation, but they are starting to make the right noises. You just need to compare house prices with average incomes to know there's something seriously wrong there.
But for now I'm undecided. All this still floats my vote. And if by May 3rd none of them convince, I suppose there's always the New Millennium Bean Party...
*Diclaimer: While I would qualify for this (thanks Mr Gasyth), I wouldn't be eligible for Plaid's student debt relief because I had the audacity to get educated in England before returning to Wales.
Labels: Cadbury's Creme Egg, Cardiff City 1-0, vote, Wales, Welsh Assembly Election 2007
posted by Blamerbell @ 5:54 am,
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Giggs is no longer Wales' only world class player
Saturday, March 24, 2007
What an uninspiring afternoon. Most of the people in the pub couldn't even be bothered to watch the football. And while we are on the subject, why on earth are our national team's games only available on satellite television? Everyone should be able to watch their country perform.Except that Wales didn't perform today. Giggs is no longer Wales' only world class player. That's because he's not world class anymore. As captain, he should have galvanised the team and led by example. Instead, he was woeful and his complete lack of impact was epitomised by two wasted free kicks towards the end of the game.
Here's hoping for an Israel win to salvage something from the day.
Labels: European Championship Qualifier, Ireland 1-0 Wales, Ryan Giggs, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 5:33 pm,
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Why is Google promoting the BNP?
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Google News is a great thing. Where else could you read 206 different articles about Kanye West's carbon-heavy Welsh korma?
It is, in fact, quite ironic that one of the world's most popular news sites is completely devoid of any journalism at all; it being no more than a mere aggregator of news feeds from all over the globe.
I'd love to know, however, who decides which sources should be included. Surely a pre-requisite for any news provider is at least a semblance of impartiality? And at the very least political press releases should be ruled out because they are so unequivocally partisan.
Strange then, that Google only seem to have one feed from a UK political party, and that's the British National Party. Indeed, a constant stream of latent xenophobia is now a familiar part of the Google apparatus. Even the most innocuous of searches can throw up some BNP propaganda.
I've no idea how the BNP managed to get on Google's list in the first place, but there's no doubt it should be removed, lest a dangerous precedent be set. If other parties followed suit, the curious Welsh public could be bombarded with bias and spin, when what we really expect from news is an element of fairness and scrutiny.
Of course, if anyone does want to read a seemingly interminable outpouring of cobbled-together press releases, then they could always catch-up with the latest from Carwyn Jones' blog.
Labels: BNP, Carwyn Jones, curry, google news, Kanye West, politics, press releases, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 8:44 am,
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It's all white in the assembly
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Lib Dem leader Mike 'German' is about as ethnic as it gets in the Welsh assembly. David Davies is part Hungarian and Bryan Gibbons is an Irishman. Apart from that, Assembly Members are as white and British as they come.(Before Plaid-sympathising readers reach for the diatribe button, be aware: I'm talking census terms here.)
There are often calls to make the assembly more representative. It's already more than half female and attracting an increasing number of young candidates. But when it comes to ethnicity, it's all white.
And so, more or less, is Wales. In the 2001 census, 96% of Welsh people gave their ethnic origin as White British. That's 9% more than in England. Just 1.7% described themselves as members of an ethnic minority group, the largest being Asian/Asian British at 0.9%
But that still means the assembly isn't quite as colourful as it might be. If it were mathematically representative, we'd expect at least one and one fifth assembly member to be from an ethnic minority. Requiring just a teeny swing from the Tories to get a list seat in South Wales East, Plaid's Mohammad Asghar is the ethnic candidate most likely to get elected. If he were to win and then grow an extra leg he'd be perfect for the assembly's sense of balance (though perhaps not his own).
As far as I'm aware, however, there are no ethnic minority candidates contesting guaranteed or near guaranteed seats. It may well be that the assembly goes another four years with Brian Gibbons' brogue as the nearest thing to ethnic diversity. In today's Wales, is that good enough?
Labels: Brian Gibbons, census 2001, David Davies, ethnic candidates, ethnic diversity, Mike German, Mohammad Asghar, politics, Wales, Welsh Assembly Election 2007
posted by Blamerbell @ 10:17 am,
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Welcome to Wales: population 151
Friday, March 09, 2007
If you thought the Rhondda was the end of the earth, then you've never visited Wales. That's Wales on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, 111 miles northwest of Nome, Alaska.
It's a small community of just 151 people with a strong Eskimo heritage. According to the Anchorage Daily News, "the economy is based on subsistence hunting and fishing, trapping, Native arts and crafts and some mining."
Perhaps we've more in common than you'd think.
Labels: Alaska, Anchorage Daily News, Mining, Nome, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 12:05 pm,
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Plaid Cymru and the demise of Welsh rugby
Monday, February 26, 2007
Plaid release an opportunistic press statement on the eve of the six nations and then launch a rugby-themed attack on Labour.Wales lose three on the bounce and look like a team lacking ideas.
I just hope they don't now jump on the Bluebirds' bandwagon. That could seriously derail our season.
Labels: Cardiff City FC, Plaid Cymru, rugby, six nations, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 9:57 am,
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Introducing Dafydd Elis-Thomas: First Minister
Monday, February 05, 2007
Dafydd Elis-Thomas has been such a success at isolating himself from Plaid Cymru that he could lead a rainbow coalition government after May's Assembly election. That's the view of 'election pundit' Dr Denis Balsom as reported in today's Western Mail.The idea is that after eight years as Presiding Officer, Dafydd El is considered to be above politics and could oversee a Plaid, Tory and Lib Dem coalition, with the three party leaders serving beneath him in the cabinet. Apparently this is the model of government used in Austria, Belgium and Switzerland. It's called a 'consociational democracy' - a term you may never come across again, so make the most of it.
But before Glyn Davies wets himself in eager anticipation, let's just reflect on the probability of this happening: near zero.
Dr Balsom admits he was merely speculating and considers a Lib-Lab coalition the most likely outcome. Lord Elis-Thomas has won few friends for his performances at the Senedd's throne. He's so far failed even to rise above a petty feud with his deputy John Marek - how would he cope with the mud-slinging of three competing leaders within his own cabinet? And then there's the already well-documented resistance of a number of key players within Plaid to any notion of a coalition with the Tories.
It's an interesting idea but in reality about as likely as Helen Mary Jones winning Miss Great Britain 2007.
Labels: Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Denis Balsom, First Minister, Rainbow Coalition, Wales, Welsh Assembly Election 2007
posted by Blamerbell @ 9:34 am,
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Electoral Commission shares stage with BNP 'racists' in North Wales
Sunday, February 04, 2007
If there's one party this blog has so far neglected to scrutinise ahead of the next Assembly elections, it's the BNP.
Most people assume they're not much of a force in Wales. So the news that they are intending to put forward a record number of candidates on May 3rd is alarming.
Perhaps more worrying, though, is their claim to be solidifying their status as a political party in Wales. A news article from their website says that Heulyn Gwyn of the Electoral Commission recently gave 70 BNP members a special presentation, and that he told them it was the "best presentation he has ever given to so many people with so many intelligent and valid questions."
It's Sunday, so I haven't had the opportunity to check this out with the Electoral Commission, but it would be interesting to know the circumstances under which this event was held.
For instance, the article states that the Electoral Commission were followed that evening by a speech from Jonathan Bowden, BNP cultural officer, who received a standing ovation. Videos of Bowden addressing a BNP gathering in North Wales have since appeared on youtube. This is his RANT against immigration and this is his ATTACK on public sympathy for Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty.
On immigration he says: "I was in Handsworth recently in the middle of Birmingham. Handsworth is 99.7% non-white. And the only whites who are left are very elderly people who are going to die soon, the mentally ill and people who can't get out."
He then goes on to defend the Big Brother racists, saying: "An Indian millionairess has been slightly abused on a trashy TV programme and the media is convulsed with this for day after day... They're all milking it because it's yet another thing about which the indigenous community are made to feel 'guilty'... When in actual fact this crude 'bitchy' girl has the sort of attitudes, expressed in a vulgar way, which most people, including Indians, have about other groups."
It seems likely that the Electoral Commission were in fact addressing the same crowd later whipped-up by Jonathan Bowden - whose oratory style bears an ironic resemblance to that of Jade Goody herself.
I would like to know why they agreed to appear at the event in the first place, and whether they were aware of the nature of the speakers that followed them. Because on the surface, it's surely not helpful for a public body to associate with the BNP in this way.
Labels: Big Brother, BNP, electoral commission, Immigartion, Jonathan Bowden, Shilpa Shetty, Wales, Welsh Assembly Election 2007
posted by Blamerbell @ 12:12 pm,
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Cymuned and Plaid exploit Welsh rugby
Saturday, February 03, 2007
I wonder if Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones will be singing 4 Wales this weekend?Both Plaid Cymru and the Welsh pressure group Cymuned have sought to use the beginning of the six nations for their own benefit.
Ieuan Wyn Jones issued a press release urging 'the Welsh public to take pride in their national team and to get behind them in their quest for another momentous championship'. And Cymuned launched a website to teach Welsh people how to sing again.
I'm not convinced the Welsh public need 'urging' from Plaid Cymru to get behind their team. As far as I can see, Wales is about the only rugby-playing country on the planet that most definitely doesn't need this sort of encouragement.
As for Cymuned - do they really envisage pissed-up beer camels from the valleys logging on to their website and singing along with the harp videos just to get the tune right?
As Wales take on Ireland tomorrow, the nation will roar in support of the team whatever Ieuan Wyn Jones says. And the crowd will sing as badly as ever, despite Cymuned's interventions. Such is the uselessness of publicity stunts.
Labels: Cymuned, Ieuan Wyn Jones, Plaid Cymru, rugby, sing4wales, Wales, Welsh
posted by Blamerbell @ 12:06 pm,
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The fire behind the Welsh smoking ban
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Are Assembly Members Ann Jones, Karen Sinclair and Glyn Davies right to table an amendment calling for Wales' smoking ban to come into force at the same time as in England?Wales was due to break with the fags on April 2nd, but if the tar-happy triumvirate in the Senedd get their way the ban won't come into place until July.
They say businesses on the border will lose out as Welsh people shift their locals over to England.
Whatever happened to taking the lead and making England jealous?
Just one day more of cancer-fuelled fog in our pubs is a day too many.
UPDATE: The amendments were defeated and Wales will have its smoking ban on April 2nd.
But what on earth is Leanne Wood blogging about? She doesn't want to see 'smokers marginalised'. Well, Leanne, I don't want to see my lungs marginalised! Good job there was little support for your amendment, as you predicted.
Labels: Ann Jones, England, Glyn Davies, Karen Sinclair, Smoking ban, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 12:08 pm,
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Wales through an Indonesian's eyes
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Wales and Scotland are "a fascinating world beyond the English shires," according to an Indonesian journalist who recently had the honour of discovering that there's more to Britain than London and Oxford.She even had good things to say about our bruising climate: "The autumn Welsh weather was unforgiving; the wind was freezing and the rain came without warning. Yet, its fine days persuaded you to believe in the promise of unending sunshine."
Praise too for the good people of the North: "Shopkeepers, even in cities like Caernarfon, do not pester or cajole, though they keep their eyes on you as you browse." Probably because the locals are always nicking stuff:)
And by strange coincidence, the author happens to be called Dewi - a popular female name in Indonesia, meaning 'goddess'.
Source: Jakarta Post
Labels: Indonesia, Jakarta, Scotland, tourism, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 1:15 pm,
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Is there such a thing as a Welsh Unionist?
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Not according to Wikipedia. It's hardly an authority, I know, but it does seem a bit odd that the page on unionism refers only to trade unionism, and then unionism in Ireland, Scotland, Romania and Moldova.So why the glaring omission? Welsh Tories clearly see themselves as unionists. David Davies AM even insisted on being called by his party's full name - the Conservative and Unionist Party - during one plenary session last term. Other notable self-confessed unionists are Peter Hain and Leighton Andrews. Perhaps they should all club together and rustle up a page for Wikipedia. Even the nationalists have one of those.
Labels: Great Britain, Unionism, United Kingdom, Wales, wikipedia
posted by Blamerbell @ 11:24 am,
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Same old English, always colonizing
Sunday, November 19, 2006
This time it's cultural.
The Department for Culture, Media and Support has been running a project to choose England's foremost icons.
And the rest of the world will be surprised to discover what's deemed to be iconically English these days:
- a cup of tea
- the local bobby
- Fish and Chips
- the oak tree
- rugby
- the V sign
...and even THE WEATHER.
What a petty, misguided and divisive project for a government ministry to run.
Tessa Jowell, if she's serious about this, can come down to the Millennium Stadium in the pouring rain. 70,000 rugby fans, I'm sure, will show her that the V sign is alive and well outside of England.
Labels: England, English, fish and chips, rugby, tea, Tessa Jowell, Wales, weather
posted by Blamerbell @ 9:30 am,
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Going Japanese in the Assembly
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The Japanese ambassador was at the Assembly yesterday. They kept that very quiet.
Good job we have so many blogging AMs to fill us in on the details.
Carl Sargeant blogs on the ambassador getting into an awkward corner with the irrepressible Brynle Williams.
And Glyn Davies tells us how Japan only won the war with Russia in 1905 thanks to Welsh support - at least according to the first minister:
Rhodri Morgan was in fine form - telling us about the historical effectiveness of Welsh - Japanese cooperation. It seems that in the war between Japan and Russia some 100 years ago, it was the link with Wales that delivered victory to the Japanese. At that time early knowledge of the approaching fleet was crucial in sea battle - with both sides looking out for the smoke rising from ship's funnels, before the ships themselves came into sight over the horizon. The Japanese used Welsh coal which did not create any smoke at all which gave the Japanese the winning advantage. As Rhodri said, when Wales and Japan work in harness, they can overcome the most formidable challenge.
Of course, the Japan-Russia war came after a brutal war with China and just before the annexation of Korea. It kickstarted Japan's imperial adventure which then resulted in the second world war. Glad we could help.
Labels: Japan, Japanese Ambassador, Rhodri Morgan, Wales
posted by Blamerbell @ 10:02 am,
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