One of the last requests by our late friend Rhobert ap Steffan was that we should vote YES in the referendum on March 3rd.
I am happy to comply with this request and urge all followers of Cambria Politico to do the same.
Feb 272011
Feb 162011
We have received several complaints that the survey by the West Wales Business Initiative in the article we published below is biased, unrepresentative and web-ignorant. Well, that may well be true but you also have to remember that the majority of West Wales small businesses are not internet savvy, are not represented by the CBI or FSB or other quasi political body and actually have little or no ‘voice’ or means of expression. Nor do they read blogs like this.
It is also true that this survey is a small selective sampling of businesses but so are the adverts for shampoo on the telly which maintain that 87 out of 100 women when asked agree that the product makes them look beautiful and glossy!
The questions in the survey are also asked in such a way as to predispose the answer nevertheless it is what people are asking whether we like it or not. This is what the NO campaigners are relying on.
The fact remains that (some) small business owners in the very heart of ostensibly ripe YES territory are unhappy with WAG and that whatever is proposed will be viewed with extreme suspicion. This MUST be a concern for the YES campaign and something must be done to address this beyond the constant bombardment by twitter and facebook posts (which are not seen anyway). The only YES campaign material we have seen came in the form of a very cheap printed flier printed on grey paper you would probably only use in a cat litter tray (to be polite). There has been no NO literature which is probably just as well.
The rather weird and frenetic debates held by the BBC’s Betsan Powys on the telly or on the BBC politics websites are strangely fascinating to people like me but do you really imagine that business people listen to these or read them? I don’t think so.
Oh and I am a declared YES vote, voting this way for ‘patriotic’ reasons and no other.
Feb 072011
In my capacity as a ‘bellwhether’…
A bellwhether is any entity that serves to presage future happenings.
The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) leading his flock of sheep.[1][2] The movements of the flock could be noted by hearing the bell before the flock was in sight.
I am ringing a bell of warning to all those who think a YES vote in the upcoming referendum in Wales is a foregone conclusion. There is no logic to this and the polls, such as they are, appear to be overwhelmingly in favour. The YES campaign has marketed itself very well (compared to the NO campaign) given the limited resources but, but … I fear that we appear to be on the verge of a ‘black swan ‘ moment in Welsh politics.
I can’t avoid the alarm bell ringing perceptions that:
The Business community is lukewarm and ambivalent to the point of outright antagonism because of the dire performance of WAG on the economy. There is outward ‘lip service’ but the thoughts and private discussions are strongly negative. The ‘economic’ argument has not been made effectively enough.
Whatever they say or state to the contrary the perception appears to be that this is about Nationalism or will lead to separation and break up of the UK. It is only in certain rapidly shrinking areas of Wales that this would be perceived as a positive outcome. This ‘slippery slope’ contention by the NO campaigners has been their most deployed weapon and there is no denying its potency in certain quarters.
People have not forgotten or forgiven politicians for ‘expenses’, the poor performance of the economy, the terrible educational attainment results or lack of action against the ‘bankers’. People are no longer wondering whose side politicians are on – they know, they don’t like it and are still angry.
The rugby team is lacking in confidence and the WAG is losing the confidence of the people. It is no longer sufficient to put James Hook back in at No.10.
There is strong undercurrent that says if all the politicians are in favour then I am against it on the principle that if it’s good for them it can’t be good for me.
Some think a YES vote will give too much power and influence to Plaid Cymru a minority Nationalist party which appears not to represent the non-Welsh speaking majority. This is clearly wrong on every count but it can’t be denied that this perception exists predominantly in the Valleys and populous urban areas.
There is an argument that says you can still be a ‘patriotic’ Welsh man or woman and proud of it but still vote NO. This linkage between voting YES and ‘patriotism’ is no longer tenable.
There is a perception, especially amongst women and the young, that this is a non-issue and not worth turning out to vote for or against hence the predictions for a very low turnout. A low turnout favours no-one, let alone the political process.
___________________
As a potential YES voter I myself must face up to these negative influences and I call on the YES campaign to move up a gear and quickly. For Plaid in particular a NO vote or a LO vote will lead to their eventual disappearance from the political scene. This is their watershed moment.
Feb 062011
No prizes for guessing who is who.
Both belong to political organisations beginning with T
Both are attractive and erm… intelligent ostensibly educated women with strong personalities and unusual ability to put across their views on the Media.
Both have attracted a ‘nutter’ type following including some who either should know better or are chancers and camp followers seeking notoriety.
Both are brilliant at selection and editing of ideas, history and ideological concepts to fit their political purpose/narrative.
Both are against ‘the Government’ or want less of it.
As far as I know Rachel Banner hasn’t yet shot anything from the back of a pickup truck.
Palin wears spectacles in public.
Palin can ‘see’ Russia from her back yard, Banner can probably only see a few yards into the mist and rain of Wales.
Palin has aspirations to be the most powerful woman on the Planet with her painted fingernail on the nuclear button. Not sure what Banner’s aspiration is apart from preventing the present government of Wales from acquiring more legislative powers in the upcoming referendum or in her words ‘sliding down a slippery slope’.
Poster below courtesy of syniadau
For fans of Palin I include this wonderful tribute:
Feb 052011
Adapted from this article about the origin of the phrase ‘bunga bunga’ and #bungabunga
Two Welshmen are cornered by a gang of Referendum campaigners. They are asked whether they would prefer to vote or undergo bunga bunga.
The first one opts for bunga bunga, and is immediately subjected to a sexual assault by members of the gang. The second one, who now grasps the reality of what “bunga bunga” means says he would prefer to vote. To which the chief of the party replies: “Okay, you can vote – but before that you will have bunga bunga.”
This an old but good story sent to us by Martyn Williams.
An American photographer on vacation in the UK was inside a church in London taking pictures, when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign underneath which read “£10,000 per call”.
The American, intrigued, asked the priest who was strolling by, what the telephone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven, and for £10,000 the caller could talk to God. The American thanked the priest and went on his way.
The next stop for the American was Lincoln, and there at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign underneath. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he had seen in London, and asked the nun who had been praying nearby, what was the purpose of the telephone. She told him that the golden telephone was a direct line to heaven, and that for £10,000 he could talk direct to God. He thanked the nun and moved on.
The American then visited Bath, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Southampton and several other large cities in England, each time visiting a church. Each time he found the same golden telephone with the same “£10,000 per call” sign underneath.
The American then decided that he would travel to Wales, to see if the Welsh had the same type of telephone in their churches. He arrived in Cardiff and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone .. but this time the sign underneath read “50 pence per call”.
The American was very surprised, so he sought out the priest and enquired about the sign. “Father”, he said, “I have travelled all over the length and breadth of England, visiting countless churches, and I have seen this same golden telephone in all of them. But in the English churches, the price was always “£10,000 per call. Can you tell me why is it only 50 pence here in Wales?”
The priest smiled warmly and replied, “You’re in Wales now my son … it’s just a local call”.
Note
Unless, of course, you’re calling from Satan’s phonebox (Tregaron 666)! In which case, the call is free. This is the nearest phone box to Capel y Zoar (Cefn-cerrig-Telefon)
As a newly naturalised citizen, the recent display of rain-soaked arrogance and sloth masquerading as the business and economic development disaster for Wales also known as The Ryder Cup was an unmitigated PR and financial disaster. Even without the rain, the government built this up to a level of expectation only the 2012 Olympics could surpass.
We should have had a few hints of our true standing when BBC network covering Pope Benedict’s arrival in Edinburgh. His Holiness was greeted by Scottish First Minster Alex Salmond. The BBC commentator then asked who the white haired gentleman standing next to Alex was, then greeting the Pope. It was Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones. Oops!
While there was a gripping Monday finish, few in the target US and Canada markets saw it. Sadly, most will only again see it as a highlights show in two years because of the foolhardy decision to play the tournament on a hilly, poorly draining Parklands course in October. That the officials then tried to lamely blame the US PGA Tour’s FedEx playoff calendar for the late start (only two weeks later than past contests) was a last gasp effort to save their backsides. Ironically, Royal Porthcawl, a tough jewel of a links course that could have truly tested the Ryder Cup players, remained open Friday and Sunday all day.
Even branding will not save team Wales. All references to the location of the previous Ryder Cup European contest are to the K-Club just as they will be to Celtic Manor. Ireland like Wales will be soon forgotten. Wales stands a slightly better chance to be remembered for the poor weather.
So the irony is Wales will be remembered for the one thing it was hoping not to have as a legacy… rain. While an admitted source of national pride to see Wales favourably displayed on SKY, the Monday live audience from 01:00-09:00 am in the USA and around the world was missing and presumed dead.
Also missing from the coalition’s recently released list of quangos headed for the dustbin was the Welsh Assembly Government itself who spent some £50 million pounds to bring the Ryder Cup to Wales. That same WAG boasted 2 billion homes would watch the cup, which was curious since only 6.6 million watched it globally in 2008.
And that same WAG boasted tourism benefits and indeed touted a figure saying that some 700 rounds of golf were played on courses around Celtic Manor. First Minster, for half the amount you spent, all 700 players could have been flown here and home by private jet and stayed in 5-star hotels.
Indeed if you owned a golf course west of Swansea by now (if ever at all) all golfers and fans have returned home. Too, the much touted website www.businessgolfwales.com has not been updated since before the event and will, like the £1.1 million pound advert buy and glossy brochures for Wales to sell golf in Wales across the UK on SKY is also likely to be swept into the dustbin of failed campaigns. Why Wales were not advertising on the PGA Channel, ESPN (Friday coverage) and NBC Saturday and Sunday coverage to reach an audience outside the UK is perplexing.
The circus has left town, tents are folded away, Wales has been dry since the infamous washout weekend and questions persist about Return on Investment (ROI) and our woefully inadequate business attraction record.
Not a word appeared in twelve days on the government’s Twitter feed. Not one figure has appeared talking about projected economic development benefits. Even the opposition is silent on the waste in advance of the coming budget cuts.
Having been dismissed as a curmudgeon over my comments, the questions remain. Who, beyond Sir Terry, his resort, hotels, bars and restaurants benefitted from £115 per day tickets and a complete no-golf Friday washout? The course on Monday could have handled another 10-12K visitors yet the Friday contingent was out of luck and could not come Monday.
Looking for a £150-£200 million (A standard 3 or 4:1) return on investment in the form of new jobs for the Valleys and across Wales? Don’t hold your breath. But hey, Team Wales did well in the Commonwealth Games and there will be enough magician’s misdirection to go around for months. Remember we have a 5-day cricket test match next year with Sri Lanka, European Cup football qualifiers, Six Nations rugby and Olympics 2012.
By then we will all say Sir Samuel who? The Ryder what? Aaah – it’s good to be king in a land of no accountability.
By Denis G Campbell of UKProgressive. Republished from Cambria magazine with permission
Dec 112010
The Romanian News Agency (Romag) reports
Observers report that the Romanian Politician of the Year ceremony in central Bucharest ended with a ‘Ceausescu Moment’ when the crowd failed to respond at all when it was announced that Nicolae Howelescu had been awarded a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award. “For the first time ever at this event there was no standing ovation’” said Romania’s leading political expert Daran Hiliescu: “It reflects the loathing the people feel for totalitarian tyrants like this. When leading dissident Wig Li received the honour the applause went on for hours!”
Howelescu’s Securitate bodyguard had to bundle the disgraced politician onto the roof of the building to a waiting helicopter with his indignant wife Elena screaming insults at the ungrateful masses, who whistled and cat-called. The helicopter is believed to have landed somewhere in the socialist ‘Little Moscow’ area of the Rhondda Valley, where Howelescu and his wife were bundled into the boot of a white Fiat Uno before being driven off to an unknown destination. Teams of Liberation Army partisans with dogs and searchlights are reported to be hunting him down tonight.
An adoring Elena looks on as her husband’s honour is announced in Bucharest’s Palace of the People.
As the organisers look forward to next year’s event, local Bucharest lobbying company Pozitjv Politjkz has agreed to sponsor hundreds of airline-style sick bags to be placed on each table as an emergency measure amid gossip that Rosa Kleb-lookalike Madame Kinnock, hated wife of the disgraced former Workers’ Commissar, is the running for a Lifetime Achievement award. The rumour given some credence by the fact that workmen have been seen painting a large H surrounded by a white circle on the roof of Bucharest’s Palace of the People. Said a frustrated Daran Hiliescu last night “Any suggestion that this woman could come near to being presented with this award would bring the whole event into disrepute and Romania would become the laughing-stock of the political world.”
Madame Kleb was unavailable for comment last night.
