Friday 27 June 2008

Cernyw at the Mercy of Westminster

All committed nationalist should unite, in our view, and give assistance and support to our Celtic cousins across the diaspora.
Paste this address into your browser and read about the latest campaign of the Cornish.

http://www.plenproject.com/

Wednesday 25 June 2008

Friends of Wales and Glyndwr

Please paste the link into your browser window and read on.....

http://cenedl.blogspot.com/

Monday 23 June 2008

Spain Outstrips Wales in High Tech Infrastructure

It is quite obvious that Spain has benefited tremendously from the influx of EU funds, as infrastructure here on the Costa is highly developed and high tech.
Examples are the disposal of garbage into underground chambers and the toilet facilities in Burgerking where lights switch on and off automatically as one enters and leaves. Transportation is also very efficient with high-speed trains linking the major cities, such as the AVE trains now linking Madrid with Malaga.

Alan in Dyfed in Spain

Wales underfunded for decades – report
Jun 23 2008 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

NEWLY released UK Government papers provide evidence that Wales has been systematically underfunded by hundreds of millions of pounds over more than three decades.

Unearthed documents suggest that calculations for how much money Wales should receive – based on economic data from 1977 – were seriously flawed.

The new information confirms what has long been suspected by some academics and politicians, and will encourage those who want the Treasury’s method of allocating money to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to be revised.

The evidence that Wales has for many years been short-changed is contained in documents released by the Scotland Office following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

An unidentified applicant asked to see two files on the issue kept in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Originally the UK Government refused to release the papers, but was ordered to do so by the Information Commissioner. A mooted appeal to the Information Tribunal has now been abandoned, and the two files amounting to hundreds of pages have now been published on the Scotland Office website.

Currently, Treasury allocations made to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are based on the so-called Barnett formula, devised in the late 1970s when Labour’s Joel (now Lord) Barnett was Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Since it was introduced, the Celtic nations have received block grants based on their proportion of the overall UK population.

The documents show that, according to a Treasury calculation, Wales in 1976-77 was allocated 6% less than it would have been if funding was based on need. In 1984, Treasury officials wrote: “The results imply that, relative to England, ‘actual’ expenditure in 1976/77 exceeded ‘need’ by about 3% in Scotland, by about 6% in Northern Ireland, and fell short of ‘need’ by about 6% in Wales.”

Despite having identified this shortfall in funding for Wales, no attempt was made to increase the amount of funding for Wales, even when it was suggested that Scotland’s funding should be cut.

A large proportion of the material in the documents involves behind-the-scenes attempts by the Treasury to reduce funding for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the resistance at the Scottish Office and Northern Ireland to any such proposal. At one point, it was implied by a senior official at the Scottish Office that George Younger, the Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland, would resign if Treasury funding for Scotland was cut.

One of the documents states: “When he met the Chief Secretary on April, 12 the Secretary of State made it clear that whatever any studies showed he could not conceive, of circumstances in which he would be able to announce a reduction in the Scotland block’s share of public expenditure.

“Such an announcement would make his position politically untenable, would further erode the Government’s support in Scotland, and would help to rekindle demands for devolution.”

Shockingly, Treasury officials at one point argue that cuts of up to £100m a year could be imposed in Scotland without opposition MPs or the public noticing.

The suggestion was rejected by officials at the Scottish Office on the basis that academics and journalists would definitely notice.

Last night, Eurfyl ap Gwilym, Plaid Cymru’s economics adviser and one of his party’s nominees for a seat in the House of Lords, said: “This material is extremely interesting and proves what many of us have known for a long time – that Wales has been seriously underfunded for many years.

“We are talking about many hundreds of millions of pounds which ought by justice to have come to Wales.

“It is very clear from the papers that it was political considerations, rather than abstruse technical reasons, that determined the failure to revise the formula. Successive UK Governments have been concerned about the political consequences in Scotland of revising the Barnett formula.

“Although the content of this material is historical, the failure to rectify this funding injustice continues to have a significant effect on public services in Wales.

“It is vitally important the National Assembly’s finance committee is provided with expert advice to monitor the allocation of funds from the Treasury. There is also a powerful case for getting the National Audit Office to scrutinise such funding rigorously.”

Under last year’s One Wales coalition agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru, a commitment was made to set up a commission to investigate the funding of the Assembly. So far, no further announcements about such a commission have been made.

Saturday 14 June 2008

Time for Reflection

The central tenet of libertarianism is the principle of liberty, namely individual liberty. To libertarians, an individual human being is sovereign over his/her body, extending to life, liberty and property. As such, rights-theory libertarians define liberty as being completely free in action, whilst not initiating force or fraud against the life, liberty or property of another human being. Thomas Jefferson stated, "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others." Jefferson also said "No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him." These concepts are otherwise known as the law of equal liberty or the non-aggression principle.

Libertarians generally view constraints imposed by the state on persons or their property (if applicable), beyond the need to penalize infringement of one's rights by another, as a violation of liberty. Anarchist libertarians favor no statutory constraints at all, based on the assumption that rulers are unnecessary because in the absence of political government individuals will naturally form self-governing social bonds, rules, customs, codes, and contracts. In contrast, minarchist libertarians consider government necessary for the sole purpose of protecting the rights of the people. This includes protecting people and their property from the criminal acts of others, as well as providing for national defense.

Libertarians generally defend the ideal of freedom from the perspective of how little one is constrained by authority, that is, how much one is allowed to do, which is referred to as negative liberty. This ideal is distinguished from a view of freedom focused on how much one is able to do, which is termed positive liberty, a distinction first noted by John Stuart Mill, and later described in fuller detail by Isaiah Berlin.

Many libertarians view life, liberty, and property as the ultimate rights possessed by individuals, and that compromising one necessarily endangers the rest. In democracies, they consider compromise of these individual rights by political action to be tyranny of the majority, a term first coined by Alexis de Tocqueville, and made famous by John Stuart Mill, which emphasizes the threat of the majority to impose majority norms on minorities, and violating their rights in the process. "...There needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling, against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them..."

But most libertarians would argue that representative majority rule democracy largely has become controlled by special interest groups who represent a minority, leading to a 'tyranny of the minority' against the real numerical majority. Libertarians are egalitarians and believe all people are created equal. People are seen by libertarians as individuals and not representatives of their particular racial, religious or political groups.

Having weak state executive control means libertarian societies are more dependent on the courts for conflict resolution. An impartial judiciary can thus be of paramount importance, for without it wealthy and collective interests might run roughshod over the private citizen.

Some libertarians favor Common Law, which they see as less arbitrary and more adaptable than statutory law. The relative benefits of common law evolving toward ever-finer definitions of property rights were articulated by thinkers such as Friedrich Hayek, Richard Epstein, Robert Nozick, and Randy Barnett. Some libertarian thinkers believe that this evolution can define away various "commons" such as pollution or other interactions viewed by some as externalities. "A libertarian society would not allow anyone to injure others by pollution because it insists on individual responsibility."

SOME GOOD COMMENT HERE! Check tthe comments....

Friday 13 June 2008

Ireland's Lesson on Democracy

From the Scots blog: Tartan Hero.....

The big lesson in this triumph of democracy over state diplomacy is that a small country of 3 million* people has brought 26 other countries of 360 million to heel. So the next time someone says Scotland couldn't cope on its own in Europe, remind them what the Irish did.

* - actually 4.34 million.

A Surveillance Society........

Whether you like it or not, you are a part of it. Why is it that more people from Britain are seeking a new life overseas? It is not only the cold, cloudy winters or the lure of the sun, the search for greener pastures or the need for cheaper living.
It is the erosion of civil liberties, the invasion of privacy and the scrutiny of bureaucratic authorities which fuel the drive to escape to more relaxed and tolerant locations. It will get worse before it gets better.

Another Referendum for Cymru?

ITN - 1 hour 15 minutes ago

The United Nations has said that the UK must consider whether they should keep the Royal Family.
The UN's Human Rights Council said the Government should 'think' about holding a referendum on the issue, to see if people would prefer to live in a Republican state with a written constitution.
The monarchy costs each adult in Britain around 62p a year - but even groups representing taxpayers said there was no case for getting rid of it.

The council has 29 members including Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Sri Lanka.
It was the Sri Lankan envoy who raised concerns over the British monarchy.
But a Royal spokesman has said the public haven't haven't displayed any appetite for a referendum.
The UN report was also critical of the UK's treatment of immigrants from Sudan.
Syria accused the UK of discriminating against Muslims and Iran complained about the UK's record on tackling sexual discrimination.

Note:Ireland has voted "NO" to the Lisbon Treaty. This is because Ireland is the most democratic country in the Western World. Ireland has fully embraced the concept of freedom of choice. The Lisbon Treaty, though ratified by 18 European nations, does not allow for full consultation on its provisions and does not display democratic assent. Ireland has stood up to the moghuls of Europe. Europe should heed the lesson that the will of all the peoples of the European Union must be heeded and respected.

Paste to browser window,
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080613/tpl-uk-eu-ireland-43a8d4f.html

Thursday 12 June 2008

The Proud Scots Pipers Are Under Attack

Edinburgh buskers 'to pipe down'

Authorised pipers will be allowed to play in Castlehill and Lawnmarket
Bagpipers on Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile have been told they will be arrested if they continue to play.

Lothian and Borders Police said they receive up to 100 calls a day about the bagpipe noise and have to commit too many resources to dealing with it.
About 20 regular buskers have been asked to sign "acceptable behaviour contracts" banning them from performing in Castlehill and Lawnmarket.
If they do, officers said they could be arrested for a breach of the peace.

The police have said they are responding to a very real problem which has been troubling people living close by.
City centre Insp Bruce Johnston told the BBC Scotland news website: "Some days it was from eight in the morning through to 10pm at night. They were disturbing a lot of elderly people and students studying for exams.
"It is more important for the residents to have a normal, healthy life.
"We explained that we would take their pipes away and they would not want that.
"We really don't want to go down that road, but we told them that if we have to we will".

The contract also informs the buskers that if the playing continues after warnings are issued, anti-social behaviour orders would be issued.

Wednesday 11 June 2008

Gwynfor's Dream Closer to Reality

Rhodri Morgan to see if Wales can get a spot at UN
Jun 11 2008 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

FIRST Minister Rhodri Morgan yesterday appeared to lend credibility to the idea that Wales should be given “observer status” at the United Nations.

Instead of dismissing the proposal by Plaid Cymru AM Bethan Jenkins – as would almost certainly have happened before the One Wales coalition deal was sealed between Labour and Plaid last year – Mr Morgan (below) agreed to see if there were any precedents that might allow Wales to have its own ambassador at the UN General Assembly.

Last night Ms Jenkins, who represents South Wales West, claimed such a move would be consistent with the One Wales agreement’s commitment to “widen Wales’s membership and effectiveness in appropriate international bodies”.

She said: “In the context of devolution in these islands and in keeping with our proud outward-looking tradition it would be timely and pertinent for the Assembly Government to seek observer status at the General Assembly of the United Nations as a means of enhancing and building strong economic and political links with other nations, regions and organisations.”

Ms Jenkins said that such representation could work in tandem with existing Assembly Government offices overseas that promote Wales as a business destination.

She added: “The interdependence of countries in the 21st century is evident in so many aspects – economically, culturally and politically. We have a unique contribution to make on global issues and in order to increase our international profile we must be prepared to play our part.”

Mr Morgan agreed to investigate and to look at possible precedents in what, according to Ms Jenkins, would be the most significant diplomatic step Wales has taken since the days of Owain Glyndwr 600 years ago.

“Observer status” is afforded to NGOs, stateless nations and supranational organisations such as the EU. It allows such bodies to contribute to debate at the General Assembly of the UN without voting powers. It is enjoyed by Palestine and the Holy See.

But last night it seemed that Wales has little realistic chance of being allowed to send representatives to New York.

A source at the United Nations Association in London said: “There is no way the Foreign Office would allow this. The only precedents are the Holy See and Palestine. The Vatican is an independent state and Palestine is a nascent state.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK represents Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the UN General Assembly. That’s the way it is.”

All That Glitters........

Read on...... (paste in browser winow)

http://www.moneyweek.com/file/41862/is-the-gold-price-really-being-manipulated.html

Welsh Cars for Welsh Roads and Beyond

Morgan Lloyd sent a message to the members of Welsh number plate campaign / Ymgyrch Cyfreithloni'n baner.

--------------------
Subject: Y DIWEDDARAF / UPDATE

AC Plaid yn ceisio deddfu i ganiatau arddangos y Ddraig Goch ar blatiau cofrestru

Diolch am gefnogi fy ymgyrch i gyfreithloni dangos y Ddraig Goch ar blatiau cofrestru cerbydau. Mae’r ymateb i’r ymgyrch hyd yma wedi bod yn anhygoel, gyda thros fil o lofnodion ar y ddeiseb a thros bedwar cant o bobl wedi ymuno a’r grwp ymgyrchu ar ‘Facebook’. Mae poblogrwydd yr ymgyrch yn arwydd o gryfder y teimladau sydd yn bodoli.

Ysgrifennaf atoch gyda diweddariad i'r ymgyrch. Bellach mae gen i gyfle i gynnig deddfwriaeth newydd yn y Cynulliad Cenedlaethol. Os yw'n cael ei derbyn yn llwyddiannus, bydd y ddeddfwriaeth yma'n cyfreithloni arddangos y Ddraig Goch ar platiau cofrestru. Byddaf yn cadw mewn cysylltiad dros y misoedd nesaf, a dwi'n gobeithio'n fawr fy mod yn gallu dibynnu ar eich cefnogaeth.

Janet Ryder AC

Plaid Cymru
________________________

New legislation to allow Welsh flag on number plates proposed by Plaid Assembly Member

Thank you for supporting my campaign to legalise displaying the Welsh dragon on number plates. I have been overwhelmed by the response so far, with over a thousand people signing the petition and over four hundred people joining the ' Facebook ' campaign group. The popularity of the campaign is an indication of the strength of feeling that exists.

I am writing to you to update you on the progress of this campaign. I have been given the chance to propose new legislation in the National Assembly. If successfully passed, this legislation will make it legal to display the Welsh flag on vehicle number plates. I will stay in contact over the coming months, and I hope I will be able to rely on your support.

Janet Ryder AM

Plaid Cymru

Note: Independence Cymru already has the dragon logo on its number plates, along with the European flag and the name CYMRU.

Is the BBC News Anglo-centric?

BBC news of UK nations examined


The BBC Trust is to publish a report on the way news is covered in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BBC News has faced "new challenges" since devolution, the Trust says.

The review, commissioned in November, looked at the accuracy and context of the BBC's reporting, particularly in the devolved nations. It will consider if the nations' differing policies, and other issues, are properly reflected in the BBC's TV, radio and online output. Viewers have complained that too many stories are relevant only to England.

BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas said when Labour failed to gain a majority in the Welsh Assembly last year, many people in Wales felt the story and the subsequent coalition negotiations received too little coverage on the national news bulletins.

Licence fee boycott

There have also been complaints that since devolution too many health and education stories apply only to England, where policies differ from those in other parts of the UK. The Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price said if things did not improve he would be prepared not to pay the licence fee.

News is not regionally distributed but prejudice is. But some in England say they do not need to hear about events in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly that do not affect them. BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons told BBC Five Live that BBC News was not the sole cause of the problem: "This problem is not entirely of the BBC's making," he said. "There is a propensity for ministers, and government departments, to talk as if devolution hasn't taken place, and to act as if they are now speaking for the whole United Kingdom on issues of health and education when in fact those decisions are taken elsewhere."

The BBC appointed Anthony King, professor of government at the University of Essex, as independent author of the review. He was supported by Mike Robinson, a former BBC news and current affairs programme editor, as the review's project director.
They looked at network coverage of the four nations - particularly on devolution and devolution issues - during the English local elections and national elections in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in spring 2007.
The aim was to assess the impartiality of the BBC's network news.

It is the first impartiality review to be undertaken by the trust since it was set up in January last year.

Tuesday 10 June 2008

Making Welsh Heritage Sites More Accessible

Another initiative from Plaid Cymru in government.

Paste it in your browser...

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/06/11/welsh-children-and-pensioners-to-get-free-entry-to-sites-of-heritage-91466-21054559/

Selling the Family Silver (and Gold)

The government is probably congratulating itself on its attempts to reduce the enormous national debt.
Not content with selling off the gold reserves, letting the grandfather clocks go to America, encouraging the brain drain and selling off obsolescent buses, trains and planes by successive British governments, the latest bits of real estate to be targeted are phone boxes. Now that everybody, I mean everybody, uses mobile phones, there is apparently no need to keep those public phones, apart from the traditional old red ones in tourist spots, and they can be disposed of to the highest bidder.

Independence will make a difference provided it can be attained before it is too late to do anything about it.

Fathers' Day Looms

Independence Cymru says :
JUSTICE FOR FATHERS
Restore to fathers their rights over their children.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/10/parents.familyandrelationships(paste it)

Humanity Demands Justice, Compassion, Care...

You won't get it from this Labour government!

My concerns:
Justice for Fathers.
Justice for British expatriates with children married to an non-EU spouse.
Justice for the victims of British bureaucracy.

Monday 9 June 2008

Say "No" to an Idea from the Past Century

Minister in 'British day blunder'

from Andrew Nutt's blog....

Minister Liam Byrne has been accused by the SNP of a "glaring gaffe" over his choice of date for a "British day".
Mr Byrne was due to call for the "August bank holiday" to be made a weekend of national celebration in a speech to a New Labour think tank.
But he back-pedalled after the SNP pointed out that the August holiday is on a different date in Scotland to what it is in England and Wales.
Mr Byrne said he had just been trying to "get the debate started".

Posted by Andrew Nutt at 00:56 0 comments

More Cut-backs for Welsh Consumers

Plaid launches phone box campaign
Jun 9 2008 by David James, South Wales Echo

PLAID Cymru has launched a website opposing the closure of phone boxes.

BT is planning to rip out 281 pay-phones in Wales where there is another one located within 400 metres.

The company is also consulting on the removal of a further 805 payphones as part of a proposed cull of 10,000 boxes across the UK. Plaid AM Chris Franks said: “I understand phone boxes are not used as often as they once were and many people have mobiles.”

Sunday 8 June 2008

The Fight for Rural Welsh Education

SCHOOL CLOSURES BATTLED

RHIANNON.JONES@SWWMEDIA.CO.UK

09:00 - 06 June 2008

A Carmarthenshire councillor has been compared to Mr Men character Mr Forgetful by campaigners who claim he forgot to tell voters about 17 planned school closures before being re-elected last month.The attack on executive board member for education Ieuan Jones, by Welsh language protest group Cymdeithas yr Iaith, follows the announcement that up to six more rural schools - most in the Towy and Gwendraeth valleys - have been added to the list of those which could close under the council's modernising education plan.

Council leader Meryl Gravell, meanwhile, has been awarded the title of Little Miss Bossy.

A rally will be held outside County Hall on Monday, with protesters dressed in Mr Men costumes, while inside County Hall, members of the council's executive board will discuss a document detailing consultation on the proposed closures.
Cymdeithas chairwoman Sioned Elin said: "A 17,000-word document has not suddenly appeared from nowhere.
"It was obviously available prior to the election but Mr Forgetful - Councillor Ieuan Jones - forgot to tell voters that the Independent-led coalition on Carmarthenshire Council was about to declare war this year on up to 17 more Welsh-medium village schools, after a conveniently quiet year prior to the election.
"We challenge the executive board to send this declaration of war on village schools to the full council for debate so that amendments can be made.
"Cymdeithas yr Iaith will stand with every community which wishes to fight these proposals."

The new schools announced include Maesybont, Nantygroes, Ysgol y Fro (which includes Llansaint, Idole and Llandgyndeyrn schools) Llanedi, Cwmifor and Llangain.
Ysgol Llanarthne and Llansadwrn are waiting for a formal announcement on their closures.
Rhys Davies, county councillor for the wards covering Maesybont and Nantygroes schools, said: "As a former pupil and now a governor of Ysgol Nantygroes I know how important the school is to the community. The same goes for Maesybont school. They both provide excellent education to the children in the community."
A council spokesman dismissed the Mr Men demo as a cheap publicity stunt.
He said: "All of this detail Cymdeithas is referring to has been out in the public domain previously. Monday's debate is simply an update.
"Cymdeithas has been constantly engaged in objecting to our proposals to invest in first-class Welsh medium education in the county."

Carmarthenshire Council leader Meryl Gravell said: "The county council is investing £160 million in building new schools, and upgrading nearly all other schools over the next five to seven years."

Reader comments
Could Meryl Gravell explain, if Carmarthenshire Council are "investing in first class welsh medium education in the county", then how come 25 children have been refused places at Ysgol Dewi Sant in Llanelli for this September, some of whom have siblings at the school, and 19 of whom are within the catchment area. Some of the children refused places have also only been offered places at English medium schools which is against the law. For the September 2009 intake there are already 120 names down for only 60 spaces! Yet in the document mentioned in the article, no mention is made of the previously promised replacement school for Ysgol Dewi Sant, despite the current accommodation being woefully inadequate. Welsh medium education in Llanelli has for too long been neglected by this council.
Angry parent, Llanelli

Saturday 7 June 2008

The Holy Ground Once More

Yes, touch-down in the Land of the Cymry - back in the business of winning Wales for the Welsh - and sympathisers from all over. This last year was a turning point for Llanelli as the area voted overwhelmingly for change. Independence = Change >>>Independence.

Llyfr-Gwyneb for 21st Century Cymru

Facebook chooses to speak Welsh
Jun 7 2008 by Steffan Rhys, Western Mail

FACEBOOK – one of the world’s most popular websites – could soon be fully launched in Welsh after a group of users began translating it.

The social networking site is already partially available in Welsh after hundreds of its key terms, like “homepage”, were translated by people keen to use the site primarily in their first language.

Though Facebook is the world’s sixth most trafficked website with more than 70 million users worldwide, eight million in the UK and 323,000 in Wales, Wales is one of only 31 nationalities trying to translate it into their own language.
The website – which allows users to hold conversations, provide “updates” on what they are doing, upload photographs, arrange events and create protest groups – offered the opportunity to translate its pages into those languages for which it received the most requests.
The process of creating an entirely Welsh site has been split into three stages with users given almost complete control over which terms and phrases to use.

Facebook, with its fastest growing demographic now people aged over 25, says on its website: “We’ve opened the translation process up to the community because you know best how Facebook should be translated into your language.
“Please participate as much as you like in translating, voting, and discussion with your fellow translators.”
The first step is to translate Facebook’s “core” terms.
These are terms most commonly used on the website, such as links to the site’s homepage, an individual user’s profile, or a message board.
Suggestions for Welsh versions are then voted on by fellow users, with the most commonly accepted term adopted.
This initial stage has been completed in the Welsh language.

The second step is to translate the whole of Facebook into Welsh, which involves around 20,000 phrases but which has already been 44% completed.
The final stage involves testing and verifying the changes. Once this is done, an entirely Welsh Facebook can be launched.

A German site was launched this week.
However, the completion of the initial stage means users can already have their entire profiles and update their personal information in Welsh.
More than 400 users are currently contributing to transforming the site, where a leaderboard shows who has contributed the most successful suggestions.
In comparison, nearly 7,000 people have contributed to the Spanish version, 3,400 to the German version, and 2,000 to the Polish version, but less than 100 are involved in creating a Portuguese version and only 150 in translating the site into Norwegian.

Among the translators is Hedd Gwynfor, of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg.
“It’s important that Welsh is seen as an everyday language, because at the moment, although it is seen on things like road signs, it’s still not available in large parts of the private sector so it only gets associated with the public sector,” he said.
“Having it on Facebook shows it’s modern and can compete with other languages in the world.
“It normalises the language. At the moment you have to go out of your way to deal in Welsh and many people just give up.
“This could encourage other companies to start offering Welsh.”

However, some of the peculiarities of the Welsh language have led to difficulties in translating some of Facebook’s phrases.
This has led to online debates about which terms and phrases are grammatically correct, for example whether to use the Welsh word “ti” or “chi”, which both mean “you” but vary in their formality.
Other subjects of lively debate include whether “am” and “pm” as expressions of time should be translated into Welsh, which they currently are.
A hotly contested subject is the correct Welsh word for “upload”, one of social networking’s most common terms.
And whether the subject of a phrase is male or female has also caused difficulties, because of gender’s influence on words in Welsh.

Friday 6 June 2008

A Welsh-language Federal College

We call on the Assembly Government to keep to their promise in the ‘One Wales Agreement’ to establish a Welsh-language Federal College. A Federal College must include the following elements:

Independent status and constitution
A charter and an independent terms of reference including responsibility for the whole of higher education through the medium of Welsh in Wales.
An independent funding cash flow — at least £20 million in the first instance
An independent register of students which would ensure that students could register with both the Federal College and their geographical college, leading to a feeling of belonging and ownership of the institution.
Anything other than a total combination of the above factors would amount to a broken promise. We call on the government to reconsider if the above points are not part of their plans.

Paste in the link to follow this up and sign : http://deiseb.cymdeithas.org/english.php

Please fill in every field
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Further information about the campaign

Thursday 5 June 2008

Da Bo Latvia - Fare Thee Well

On my last full day in Latvia I paid a visit to the Museum of the Occupation (by Nazi German and Soviet forces). It was an interesting, depressing and sobering experience to contemplate man's inhumanity to man. Yet through all the trials and tribulations, the sufferings and the agony, the spirit of survival shines through, and the persistent urge towards freedom from domination and repression cannot be quenched. All things pass, and this too will pass.

Wednesday 4 June 2008

"Britishness" Dead in the Water

Plaid condemns ‘British Day’ plan
June 5 2008 by Robin Turner, Western Mail

PLANS for a “British Day” to celebrate Britishness across the United Kingdom have been condemned as “regressive” by Plaid Cymru.

Westminster immigration minister Liam Byrne has suggested an existing bank holiday could be used.

But Plaid’s Deputy Assembly leader, Alun Ffred Jones, said: “It would be far more constructive for the Westminster Government to support Plaid Cymru’s call for a national holiday on St David’s Day – a national celebration already widely observed across the country.”

Plaid Cymru Press Release - Yr Iaeth yn Ewrop

Annwyl Pawb,

Mae Jill Evans ymlaen ar rhaglen Richard Evans ar radio Wales gyda Eluned Morgan heddiw (1:30) i siarad am yr iaith Gymraeg yn Ewrop. Plis gofynwch i unrhywun rydych chi’n nabod i ffonio fewn. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7434727.stm

Jill Evans is on the Richard Evans programme with Eluned Morgan at 1:30 today. She will be discussing the use of Welsh in the European parliament. Please phone in or ask others to phone in to support Jill.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7434727.stm

Paste the link into browser window

Welsh - an Official European Language?

Paste the link into the browser window:

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/06/04/labour-plaid-argue-about-m-eu-translation-bill-91466-21019515/

British parties have little interest in recognising and promoting the Welsh Language.
Jill Evans MEP, of Plaid Cymru, stands for Wales as a European nation, and national pride in the culture and heritage as well as the the rights of the Welsh people to use their own language as well as the international language - English.

Tuesday 3 June 2008

Wales Suffers under British Suzerainty

Euro-handout is Wales’ last chance
Jun 3 2008 by Staff Reporter, Western Mail

THINGS were supposed to get better, but if the bare economic figures for a decade of Labour rule are anything to go by, Wales has failed to close the wealth gap with the rest of the UK. As we report today, Wales had the lowest growth rate of any part of the UK between 1997 and 2006. £1bn of EU economic aid does not seem to have narrowed the lead that English regions and Scotland have over us.

It’s a gloomy conclusion, and one that has an implied warning buried within it. If these are the results from what the Governor of the Bank of England recently called “the Nice decade”, the overall slowdown that is now happening is something that should worry us a great deal. Growth figures are not everything, of course. Other indicators tell a better story; unemployment is down, and incapacity benefit claims are also down – although not by anything like enough. Disposable income and house prices (until this year, at least) have also been on the rise. Parts of east Wales and the M4 corridor have been doing well.

Ministers in Cardiff Bay and Westminster can argue that the important measure is whether people are in work and feeling better off – rather than whether people somewhere else might be feeling even better off. But the growth figures are important. If Wales doesn’t close the gap, the remaining problems in the Welsh economy will never be ironed out. The Assembly Government used to claim it wanted to see Wales’ GVA figures reach 90% of the European Union average; it is stuck at 77% and the target has long since been ditched.

The Assembly Government now argues that the next round of EU funding will give it the opportunity to drive forward economic growth, and this aid – worth £1.8bn and surely the last major Brussels hand-out for Wales – feels more and more like the last chance for the Welsh economy. The fact that it is coming at all is a confirmation that there is still much to be done – “major challenges” as WAG says today.

So what should they be doing? Vocational courses in universities should be better matched to what Welsh business needs. Westminster plans for regional pay, the best way to institutionalise a poverty gap, should be resisted at all costs. Handouts for failing companies should be replaced with more support for incubator schemes for new small businesses and better investment in training and infrastructure. The EU money is there to do it. Policymakers have had a decade of UK economic growth to get the basics right; the next decade is unlikely to be as ‘nice’ as the last. Wales has the chance to pull itself up by its bootstraps and become a different, dynamic sort of economy. But do we have the political leadership to make sure we take that chance?

Independence Cymru thinks that political leadership is in the hands of the wrong politicians. Labour has lost its mandate to rule as a snap election would confirm.

The Next Investiture

Thank you for signing the "NO! ... to the investiture of a new Prince of Wales" petition at iPetitions.com website.
Your signature is valuable and makes a real difference. Please encourage others to sign the petition as well. To do that, just forward the text below to everyone who might be interested:

------- FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS -------
Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"NO! ... to the investiture of a new Prince of Wales"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/investiture?e

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.

Thanks!

The Flag of the Union

When the nations of Britain are independent and the constitution has been unravelled it is interesting to contemplate to what extent this will affect the other countries of the world affiliated to Britain, notably Australia and New Zealand, where the Union flag is represented on their national flags.

Monday 2 June 2008

An Indefatigable Campaigner for Cymru?

Gethin is concerned that CADW does not do nearly enough for Wales. He has a point. Here is what he is saying :


YMGYRCH TREFTADAETH CYMRU.
A Welsh Heritage Watch - Furthering Research, Review and Reports on Welsh History, its Preservation and Presentation. Encouraging Studies, Work and Campaigns to Present and Promote a National Interpretation of Welsh History through the ages. Prompting when and where needed Cymric Consciousness Campaigning, not least demanding return of stolen National Treasures and National Artefacts of Antiquity and later History.

Friday, 23 May 2008
WHW: CADW = CONQUERED AND DEFEATED WALES? Bit Harsh But There You Go! What are we supposed to think?

Ymgyrch Treftadaeth Cymru and these Welsh Heritage Watch Posts in this blog are in the main dedicated to a broad concern regards our National Heritage, in particular regards our National History. Not least YTC & WHW are most concerned regards how ''Official Bodies'' behave and work in respect to our National Heritage and History, as far as our "BUILT HERITAGE" is concerned we can somewhat relax. Relax, for not only do we have the RCAHMW fighting the corner of ancient monuments, Civic Trust concerned with historic buildings and historically important architectural matters etc. There is also the National Trust also concerned with ''The Built Heritage of Wales'' and with such as the National Parks and Forestry Commission concerned with landscape, as is Cadw? Cadw is so concerned that one of it's major activities is also based around a REGISTER of LANDSCAPES of HISTORIC INTEREST in WALES. To complement this excellent work, they have published a most wonderful booklet. This booklet 'HISTORIC LANDSCAPES' is beautifully produced with magnificent photographs which introduces one and all to what Cadw policies are regards our Landscape.

Do send for a copy and note they also have a series of individual landscape brochures too. I must also note that the RCAHMW are also in business of producing great Welsh Landscape fotos, and have them on a data base which you can access. Would it not be fantastic, if between them both, that is Cadw & RCAHMW, they could put up on web, even publish as booklet similar on Welsh Battlefields, I dream on but will not hold my breath.

How could anyone knock it? Well! of course we cannot knock this work but I can knock Cadw for then putting forward other priorities, and not considering Welsh Battlefields as much a priority as does English Heritage and Historic Scotland regards Battlefields in their countries. I note Cadw concern on behalf of WAG re need to list buildings of architectural importance in the 'Townscape of Wales', and indeed more virtue? But it seems too many of these ''bodies'' aforementioned are making it somewhat of a Vice, this ''Built Heritage of Wales''. At the same time DODGING, DUCKING & DIVING OUT OF THE WAY WHEN IT COMES TO WELSH BATTLEFIELDS, if your still not convinced with all I have to say on this matter, then for starters when you have obtained the above lovely landscape publication, see how many times you cam see the word 'BATTLEFIELD' mentioned, I will tell you ''NOT ONCE!'' unless, I blinked? Villas & Romans, Castles & Normans, Monasteries & Monks and Farms and Farming, YES! However, not a sniff of Gunpowder or rather I mean an echo of the clash of swords across ''Cadw's Brit Historic Landscape of Wales". Now I wonder why?

Please note that there may be problems getting into the following website via Cadw, as it's under re-construction, keep trying but also try below at Cached - Similar Pages. Cadw The official guardian of the built heritage of Wales. Sensitive maps and lists lead to photographs and brief descriptions of the 129 monuments in State care ...www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/ - 19k - Cached - Similar pages * Places to Visit * Contact Cadw * Work for Cadw * Membership * Publications* About Cadw * Events * Site Map * More results from wales.gov.uk »

Historic Scotland - the official website Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Executive and we are charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment and promoting its ...www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/ - 17k - Cached - Similar pages * Places to visit * Events * Listed Buildings * Membership * News Article * Weddings
Online Shop * News Please note, that if you go direct to a web search for Historic Scotland, there will come up along with above detail, a means of quick direct search of HS website, search SCOTTISH BATTLEFIELDS and you will immediately be linked to loads of references, do the same with Cadw, guess what ZILCH!!!! Dare you then to say I am complaining about nothing? But I can complain until I am blue, green & red in the face, and Cadw & Co will not bat an eyelid, unless you, yes you! join me in this campaign and start writing letters complaining, not only to Cadw & Co. Most importantly, please write to your MP and as important WAG in the Bay, as Cadw is a department of the Assembly as is the RCAHMW and VISIT WALES, so I suspect it's the AM's that will have the biggest say on this matter. Please write to them, and write now to MP's, AM's and Councillors. Not least letters to the press will be of great advantage in making this a matter of public interest and concern. If you want further information on this Welsh Battlefield Campaign see previous posts in this blog and over at I'R GAD WBfC http://brwydr.blogspot.com/

I conclude with posting here extracts from Scottish Heritage documents, that say a great deal as to their concern regards Scottish Battlefields. Note in their website there is an whole section devoted to Scottish Battlefields to get into this, click link to 'Looking After Our Heritage', see menu on left and click into Valuing Our Heritage and in here you will see a section headed Battlefields, terrific!!!! If only we could read the same coming out of Cadw & Co, which includes RCAHMW and WAG in particular, though I guess the Civic Trust, National Trust, National Parks, Forestry Commission and not least VISIT WALES too. Now read on, of Scotland's Concerns and action on behalf of their Nation's Battlefields:

Scottish Battlefields

Battles were often iconic events in Scottish history, and battlefields form an important part of our historic environment. Physical features or memorials associated with battle sites are scheduled or listed when they can be. For example, the battle sites of Glenshiel ((1719) where breastworks survive above the valley floor) and Culloden ((1746) where various cairns and graves are scheduled) are scheduled as monuments of national importance. Some buildings or memorials associated with battles, such as the clan monument at Sherrifmuir, are listed. Battlefields can also be protected through the planning process and can be a material consideration in the planning system and formally recognised through appropriate policy in development plans. Responsibility for the protection of battlefields through the planning process lies with local planning authorities.However, in the majority of cases battlefields cannot be given statutory protection because they do not have any visible physical remains and there is often not enough documentary evidence to allow the site to be delineated accurately on a map. Historic Scotland is working to improve the protection of this aspect of our cultural heritage by establishing a policy for their protection, in our series Scotland’s Historic Environment Policies (SHEPS) - these can be viewed and downloaded from our publications section.To inform this work we recently commissioned the Battlefield Trust to compile a report on the issues and a gazetteer of key sites We are now developing this work further with a view to creating an Inventory of battlefields. The draft policy and the proposed Inventory will be available for public consultation in due course.

There are so many documents in both these websites, that it will take be a year and a day to go through them all, if you do and spot anything that I might have missed and need to know do tell me via gethin.apgruffydd@ntlworld.com This may be on matters of Welsh Battlefields or any area of our History regards how Cadw & Co deal with such compared to Historic Scotland and English Heritage. Coming up, I hope before my break away from blogging during most of June & July, I hope to deal with more matters concerning HANES yn y TIRWEDD with particular reference to the National Parks, Forestry Commission and National Trust and whom ever crops up on my Radar Screen?

Gethin Gruffydd.

Posted by Gethin 'Iestyn' Gruffydd at 08:57
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Clerkenwell, Londonium
Welsh Remembrancer

Independence in Prime Position on the Grid

All committed nationalists espouse and work for the cause of independence. Despite all the comment, the underlying objective of members of nationalist movements, since 1928, has been to seek independence for Wales. All other considerations are secondary, but are relevant in the process which carries Wales forward to its destiny. Its destiny as a nation is full unadulterated independence. Cymru is already in "poll" position. The referendum when it comes will simply provide the stamp of approval.