Sunday 30 June 2019

Sometimes even an Independent Wales should follow legislation in England .


Although an Independista, I have no problem when Wales and Scotland sometimes quickly follow England  when a new law that is obviously necessary is introduced across the boarder.
After all England, followed Wales in introducing bag charges and a smoking ban after our Assembly passed similar legislation

So I welcome  news that a new law to protect food allergy sufferers is going to be introduced in England - and the Welsh Government has said it too will introduce tougher rules.
The new law was announced by Michael Gove following the death of teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperouse.

Natasha, from Fulham, west London, suffered a severe allergic reaction after unknowingly eating sesame contained in an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she had bought from a Pret a Manger at Heathrow Airport.
The 15-year-old died of anaphylaxis after collapsing on board a flight to Nice on July 17, 2016.
Her parents have previously called for the so-called law to make all pre-packaged food clearly show allergens, which they have discussed with the Environment Secretary.
"Natasha's Law" will require all food businesses to include full ingredients labelling on pre-packaged food, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced.
 The legislation, which will apply to England and Northern Ireland, is due to come into force by summer 2021.Under current rules, food prepared on the premises in which it is sold - such as a packaged sandwich or salad made by staff - is not required to display allergen information on the package.
The new legislation Welsh Government environment minister Lesley Griffiths told journalists on Tuesday that they too will introduce rules - although more likely via regulation than law.
Ms Griffiths said: "I've been working with Defra on that, and we will certainly be part of it.
"I think it's really important people understand what they are eating, but it's unfortunate it takes a tragedy to make this happen".
Asked if it would be law or regulation, she said: "I'm not quite sure. I think it's probably a statutory instrument [rather than legislation] but we will certainly be taking part in that as well".
Natasha's parents, Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, said the introduction of the law would be a "fitting legacy" following their daughter's death.
They said: "We are absolutely delighted that the Secretary of State has announced the Government's decision to go ahead with full allergen and ingredient labelling.
"While Natasha's Law comes too late to save our beloved daughter, we believe that helping save other allergy sufferers and their families from the enduring agony that we will always bear is a fitting legacy for her life.ill tighten the rules by requiring foods that are pre-packed directly for sale to carry a full list of ingredients, Defra said.Although the new legislation is due to be introduced by the summer, businesses will be given a two-year implementation period to adapt to the change, the department said.
The Government launched a consultation into food labelling laws in January, with businesses and allergy suffers invited to have their say on four options put forward by the department.
Proposals included mandating full ingredient listing, allergen-only labelling, "ask the staff" labels on all products, or promoting "best practice around communicating allergen information to consumers".

More than 70% of individuals backed the option for full ingredients labelling, Defra said, and recent advice from The Food Standards Agency recommended full ingredients labelling.
Mr Gove called Natasha's parents an "inspiration" following the announcement of the law.
"Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse have been an inspiration in their drive to protect food allergy sufferers and deliver Natasha's Law," he said.
"These changes will make food labels clear and consistent and give the country's two million food allergy sufferers confidence in making safe food choices."
Heather Hancock, chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said the change will mean "better protection" for allergic consumers.
Allergy UK chief executive Carla Jones also welcomed the announcement, saying the national charity was "delighted" with the legislation.
"This move towards full ingredient labelling for pre-packed direct-sale food will improve the lives of the allergic customer and it is warmly welcomed here at Allergy UK," she added.
Defra said food businesses across the country had already taken steps to improve food labelling and were urging outlets to do all they can ahead of the implementation date to help consumers make safe food choices.
Indeed even if Wales or Scotland were to become Independent  then I would  see no problem in following such legislation when introduced in England, or  Scotland or even the Republic of Ireland.

Perhaps that is what Plaid Leader Adam Price had in mind After independence, Mr Price argued that a Britannic Confederation between Wales, Scotland and England would enable more equitable cooperation between the parliaments, governments and judicial systems of each nation.

Crucially, Mr Price said that such a Britannic Confederation  (awful name but never mind) would be compatible with membership of the European Union – and would be “much more pressing and necessary” if the United Kingdom were to leave the EU.

as I indicated Britannic Confederation is not a title I like, but W.I.S.E ( Wales, Ireland Scotland, England)  Islands may be more suitable.

Independence does not mean we can't work together, and crucially there is no reason we can't learn from other legislatures on the Islands we share.

Saturday 29 June 2019

Merthyr Council in deep trouble.

In many ways the news that 2A trouble-shooter is being sent into Merthyr Tydfil council to tackle a breakdown in relations at the top of the authority and financial problems".comes as no surprise.
There are 33 councillors in Merthyr (the smallest council in Wales) 19 Independents (16 forming the ruling group in a minority administration) and 14 Labour and it seems that it is difficult for members to cooperate.
According to the BBC
The local government minister said the situation is "very serious and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency".
Julie James was responding to an appeal by the council to send in an "honest broker" between Merthyr's leadership, opposition and top officials.
Council leader Kevin O'Neill called the current position "fractious"
Mr O'Neill said independent-controlled Merthyr needed "support with member interaction given the current fractious position and financial challenge".
In a statement to AMs, Ms James said an external advisor would look at "key challenges" facing Merthyr and what help it needs.
In addition,
"an experienced political leader will work with Merthyr Tydfil council members to develop and strengthen working relationships across all political groups and between members and officers", she said.
 In a letter to Ms James on 3 June, Mr O'Neill said the council faced "enormous pressure" to deliver social services to vulnerable people and asked for expert help on how to manage finances.He also said it was difficult to make changes "because of our political balance".
The council is led by independents, but with 16 of the 33 councillors they do not have overall control.
Labour is the biggest opposition group.
Mr O'Neill also refers to concerns raised by the Wales Audit Office (WAO), the public spending watchdog.
Council managers have met the WAO to seek advice after it warned the authority not to keep raiding its reserves.
Merthyr used £560,000 of its reserves last year to help plug a deficit - most of which was due to pressure on social services, in particular the budget for children in care.
The council expects to have a deficit of £8m in 2020, growing to £15m by 2022.

 Arwyn Jones, BBC Wales political correspondent

 It seems that what has happened in Merthyr is that the pressures of cuts to its budgets have run into a failure of councillors to work together.There are 33 councillors at the authority, but the independent group who run the administration only has 16 of them. This means they have had to rely on support from opposition members to pass budgets and make decisions on how to spend money.
Two months ago, Wales' spending watchdog raised serious concerns that the council was dipping too far into its reserves to pay for the higher costs of social services for children, saying it was not "viable" to continue as it had done.
But now the ruling group and the opposition cannot agree on what to do next, so the Welsh Government will appoint, basically, a peace envoy to see how a deal can be reached.
I cannot think of a time when another council has asked for help in this way, even though minority administrations are hardly rare in local government; that's how 10 of the 22 in Wales were run after the last elections, two years ago.
What powers "an experienced political leader"  (an  his or he political affiliation if any) does not seem to be clear at the moment, but it does not the same as when In March 2011, after "years of political infighting" Isle of Anglesey County Councilt became the first council in British history to have all executive functions suspended, with a team of commissioners appointed by the Welsh government put in place to run the council's functions with elections ultimately delayed, meaning they took place a year after the rest of Wales, pending a new electoral system.

Previous attempts to merge Merthyr with the much larger Rhondda Cynon Taf and whilst some mat think this may be the solution, I suspect RCT would baulk at inheriting Merthyr's deficit.

So whats the solution Is upose Labour would probably claim if the were to form a Majority administration they would resolve the issue but , then it would mean imposing cuts that some of its members would resist.

Quite frankly this blogger is at a loss , to see any solution and am worried that it could end up with the "an experienced political leader or honest broker" could end up the real power in the County Borough"

Something that could set a dangerous undemocratic precedent.



Friday 28 June 2019

Should Welsh Assembly Chamber ditch computer screens?

To some it may not look st all good that during televised debates of the Welsh Assembly and you can see why (apart from the publicity) an  ex-Welsh minister has said. computers should be removed from the Senedd chamber, an ex-Welsh minister has said.

The BBC reports that 
Labour AM Alun Davies said too often the impression given was that more politicians were communicating on their computers than debating.
The Blaenau Gwent AM said he wanted "access to a portable, electronic means of communication" instead.
Presiding Officer Elin Jones said she did not think most AMs wanted to remove the IT equipment.
Unlike the Scottish Parliament, assembly members have computers on their desks in their chamber.
Wi-Fi is also available there, which AMs can use for personal devices.
 But Mr Davies told AMs that since the Senedd building was opened in 2006 "we have seen enormous strides forward in terms of use of technology and our means of keeping in touch with our offices and working productively whilst we're taking part  in debates".
"I think, all too often, people watching us taking part in debates in this place will see a member speaking, as I am now, and a sea of heads looking downwards at their screens," he said.
"It's time now that we review the structure of this chamber and ensure that we get rid of our computer screens and spend more time debating with each other and less time on our screens," Mr Davies added.
Senedd chamber

However, Plaid Cymru's Bethan Sayed responded on Twitter: 
"Some of us are communicating with the real world when we are in there. I don't want them ripped out."
Presiding Officer Elin Jones replied: 
"The last time we asked assembly members for their views on whether the IT equipment that was available to them in this chamber was the right way to carry on for the future was in 2016.
"Members were certainly at that point keen to continue with the use of the IT equipment installed here.
"Members don't have to use what's in front of them and as any member is standing on his or her feet it may be useful to remind other members that they are in shot, in television shot, at that time".
Ms Jones said it was "probably not a good look for a party leader" to have members of their party "behind them not paying any attention at all to what the party leader is saying".




Whilst it may not look good at least they are not falling asleep during debates as they do in Westminster.








I hope that our AM are using their computers , to fact check what Minister or Opposition members are claiming.


I can understand how in any legislative chamber , if you are not actually going to ask or answer a question or speak at all, then it the chance to something useful is tempting.


Though clearly it would be better if they  at least looked like they were paying attention. Including Mr Davies.



Is that Alun Davies on his computer screen behind former First Minister  Carwyn Jones?



Thursday 27 June 2019

Boris Johnson throws a dead cat on the table.

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson  and his handlers clearly thinks , it is better for him to mocked for saying saying  he enjoys making, and painting, wooden models of “wonderful” London buses.

After being accused of cowardice for his steadfast refusal to face the media in the Tory leadership contest, Boris Johnson finally broke cover –
The front-runner to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister eventually took part in a series of broadcast interviews following a weekend of newspaper headlines regarding his relationship with girlfriend Carrie Symonds.


The Independent tells us .

On Friday, the news broke that police were called to the flat shared by the couple in South London after reports of a domestic incident. An apparently candid photo was then published by the Daily Mail on Monday of Mr Johnson, 55, and Ms Symonds, 31, sat hand-in-hand on garden furniture in the idyllic Sussex countryside.
The media appearances could have gone more smoothly – LBC’s Nick Ferrari asked an exasperated Mr Johnson more than 25 times about accusations that the photo was leaked without getting a response, during a tense exchange.Then, in an interview with Talk Radio, Mr Johnson was asked what he does to switch off away from politics, and delivered an answer described by one political scientist as “so bizarre it’s mesmerising”.“I like to paint, or I make things,” he began.“I have a thing where I make models of… (when I was Mayor of London we made beautiful…) I make buses. I make models of buses.“What I make is, I get old, I don’t know, wooden crates, right? And then I paint them.“And they have… I suppose it’s a box that’s been used to contain two wine bottles, right?“It will have a dividing thing, and I turn it into a bus and I put passengers… you really want to know this?”Talk Radio’s political editor Ross Kempsell at this point attempted to step in: “You’re making cardboard buses. OK, that’s what you do to enjoy yourself…”Mr Johnson, however, was warming to his theme, and refused to be distracted.“I paint the passengers enjoying themselves on the wonderful bus,” he continued.“Low carbon, of a kind that we brought to the streets of London that reduces CO2, reduces nitrous oxide, reducing pollution.”His meandering confession provoked near universal incredulity, with many opponents alleging that Mr Johnson had simply made the whole thing up on the spot in lieu of any credible hobbies.
But that was the whole point Johnson was using the"Dead Cat In The Table Ploy"  which he himself explained back in 2013
The Australian is Sir Lynton Crosby who is advising Johnson on his leadership bid after the Tory election guru was credited with helping Scott Morrison's “miracle” Australian election victory.
There is a reason Boris Johnson is avoiding the TV debates, and his name is Lynton Crosby. Crosby is running the Johnson leadership campaign — in awkward conjunction, it seems, with Boris’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds. He is a veritable TV debatephobe. He has run the last two Tory general elections, and he ordered David Cameron and Theresa May to shy away from the TV debates. In Crosby’s view, debate-ducking is the sensible course. He sees no upside. For frontrunners, especially, if the debate goes well, there is no real uptick in support. The only way a TV debate can influence an election is if a candidate has a massive gaffe, a viral FAIL that destroys his or her credibility. So best shunned.  That makes perfect sense in terms of winning — perhaps doubly so in Boris’s case, with so much of the anti-Brexit media bubble desperate for him to slip up. It’s why Boris’s team are apparently so wedded to this ‘submarine’ strategy. 
But the "Dead Cat on the Table works"  it may  lead to mockery but it diverts attention from his private life and the fact that Mr Johnson is leading us to a NO Deal which , he can't really give us any really explanation on how it would be implemented. 

Wednesday 26 June 2019

"Welsh" Labour "We don’t know what we’re doing on the economy,"

For its worth I can see the argument made by Wales' Deputy Economy Minister Lee Waters  astonishingly candid admission – that the Welsh Government has pretended for 20 years that it knows what it is doing on the economy, when the truth is that it doesn’t. in its  context , but unfortunately he does not come to the conclusion that we need full control of our economy , rather than the third rate devolution settlement we are currently working under.

According to Wales Online.


Speaking to leaders of the co-operative sector at a lunch in The Clink restaurant at Cardiff Prison, Mr Waters said:

“There’s a degree of disappointment among some people ... who feel that devolution hasn’t achieved its potential.
"For 20 years we’ve pretended we know what we’re doing on the economy – and the truth is we don’t really know what we’re doing on the economy. Nobody knows what they’re doing on the economy.“Everybody is making it up as we go along – and let’s just be honest about that. We’ve thrown all the orthodox tools we can think of at growing the economy in the conventional way, and we’ve achieved static GDP over 20 years.“The levels of GVA per head now are the same they were in 1999. And that’s not from a lack of trying. There’s no failure on the part of ministers and civil servants. Boy, have they tried!But it’s an approach that has its limits for Wales – and we need to try a different approach.”
GVA – Gross Value Added – is a variation on GDP (Gross Domestic Product), and is used to measure the average contribution per head of individuals to a regional economy. Wales, like Scotland and Northern Ireland, is seen in this context as a region of the UK.Over the last 21 years, Wales has fallen back slightly meaning economic productivity is now even further behind the UK average than it was in 1998.Mr Waters said as part of an alternative approach, Wales needed to experiment, and needed to fail, and say ‘that’s OK’: “We learn from that failure, and iterate and move on,” he said.He said the Welsh Government has set up a £3m “experimental fund”, while the Cardiff Capital Region (a consortium of 10 local authorities in south east Wales) was looking to have its own £3m fund operating in a different way, which would enable comparisons to be made.The Welsh Government would be “pump priming” through the experimental fund, which would be open to bids over the summer from the cooperative sector in areas like social care and food procurement for local schools.

Mr Waters added:

“What we don’t want is more bloody pilot projects. Devolution has been littered by tool-kits and pilot projects, which then don’t get mainstreamed.“They’re perfectly worthwhile and successful in their own right, but they have their limits.“How can we hard-wire? How can we spread and scale success?“We’re looking at the public service boards set up under the Future Generations Act, which at the moment haven’t scratched the surface of their potential in my view. How can we link them to this agenda and say: ‘Right, run the risk. This is the Future Generations principles in action. Make this happen.’?“And how can we make sure that the experimental results which are throwing up success stories can be immediately mainstreamed through the delivery of public services? That’s the challenge to them.”He said that Preston in Lancashire had made a success of local public procurement, where local businesses were successfully bidding for contracts in areas like school food provision.“If they can do it in Preston Borough Council – the size of Swansea – we can do it here”, said Mr Waters.
He said there was a danger in focusing too much on inward investment and so-called “anchor companies”, when such firms could “up-anchor” and go elsewhere.More attention should be given to local firms that were grounded, and provided a foundation for the local economy, he argued.
 Mr Waters also joked about his precarious hold on the Llanelli constituency, saying

:“As many of you will know, I’ve got the smallest majority in Wales, and no AM for Llanelli has ever been re-elected. So that focuses your mind about what it is you’re here for, and what you can do in the timeframe you have to work within. I’ve got 18 months to make this worthwhile, before I scuttle off and try something else to do, probably.”

In response to this article Mr Waters wrote on Twitter: 
"My point is that in a rapidly changing environment, with automation and Brexit, no government in the world can claim to be in control of the economy. That's why we need to experiment, learn and scale."
 Blaenau Gwent AM Alun Davies tweeted that he disagreed with Mr Waters but he'd prefer a minister 
"who speaks plainly and clearly and challenges the status quo to one who turns up and reads out a civil service brief".
"#savelee," he added.

I suppose arguing that Mr Waters is being candid is some form of defence. but it does look more like this.

 Rhun ap Iorwerth and 25 others follow
We clearly don't need programmes like The Thick of It when members of the Labour Government are coming up with quotes like this in real life! 😂


Plaid Cymru said the comments were "remarkable".
"He blames the state of Wales on economic orthodoxy. We blame it on a lack of innovation from successive Labour governments," a spokesman said.
The Welsh Conservatives' Russell George said: 
"It's deeply concerning to hear the team behind Wales' economy being so blasé about the sorry state of our nation's economy."
First Minister Mark Drakeford said:
 "We have seen major improvements across many parts of our economy over the past 20 years but it is clear there are significant new and emerging challenges.
"We have to work differently to deal with the global shifts of increased mechanisation, automation and of course, Brexit. The old ways of doing things are not sufficient in the face of such challenges.

As long as the Welsh Economy is tied to the Pocket Money  and conditions we receive  from Westminster then whoever is in charge of Cardiff Bay are simply trying to renovate the house they live in , but landlords limit what they can do and spend.

But of course It's Our Bloody House, not theirs and until we get full control any renovation will be merely cosmetic.

Clearly this an admission that Labour have failed devolution and just as I argue this statements by Lee Waters, should  lead us to the conclusion we need Independence or at least parity with Scotland, not the third class devolution we have now there will be some who argue that it shows a case for abolition of the assembly.

What it does show is that Labour has failed in its 20 years at the helm.

Whether another Party under the same devolution settlement can make a difference is a moot point , but clearly we need to consider an alternative.

Tuesday 25 June 2019

Can REMAIN Parties trust the Lib Dems in any By-election pact?y

The news that Plaid Cymru's leader Adam Price has confirmed it is in talks with other pro-EU parties over the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election is i suspect a dilemma for many Independistas
On one hand it is encouraging that that Plaid may be considering that such is the threat of Farages Brexit Party Limited Company, and the very real deal the Tories are going to take us out of the EU , with a No-Deal.
On the other hand, the prospect of the argument for Independence not being offered in a welsh constituency in favour of a Unionist Party that on winning will turn its eyes to Ceredigion and unseating a Plaid MP, may be a disastrous move.
The vote has been triggered after 10,005 people signed a petition to remove Tory MP Chris Davies, who was reselected on Sunday night.
The Wasting Mule reports that 

More than 10,000 voters in the constituency - one fifth of the electorate - signed what is known as a "recall petition" to have Conservative Chris Davies removed from office.
It is only the third time a recall petition has ever been held in the UK as part of new rules to ensure voters have a say in whether an MP should stay in office when they are convicted of an offence.
Davies, a 51-year-old father of two,  was sacked by voters after pleading guilty to two charges of making false claims under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 for photographs he had commissioned for his office.
When will the by-election be?
To begin the process, convention says that the Conservative party will "move the writ".
That usually happens within three months of the seat being vacant.
Once that is issued, the by-election will follow between 21 and 27 working days later.
Who is standing?
This section will be updated as candidates are announced.
Chris Davies - ConservativesChris Davies, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire constituency.Despite being sacked by his constituents, Chris Davies has been reselected as the candidate for the constituency.
Born in the Swansea Valley, he was educated at Morriston Comprehensive. He worked as a rural auctioneer and estate agent and managed one of Mid Wales' largest mixed veterinary practices based in Hay-on-Wye.
He was elected to Powys County Council in 2012.
He is a commentator at the Royal Welsh Show and Assistant Honorary Director of Horses.
He's married with two children.

Tom Davies - Labour Party


Brecon Town Councillor Tom Davies
Brecon Town Councillor Tom Davies is the candidate for Brecon and Radnorshire.
He was born and raised in Brecon and has lived in the constituency for most of his life. He was educated at Ysgol y Bannau and Brecon High School.
He read law at Aberystwyth University and is a qualified barrister.
He currently works as a Litigation Officer for a company based in Cwmbran.
He is a keen follower of rugby and football: a season ticket holder for the Scarlets rugby team, as well as following the Welsh football team both at home and across Europe. He also enjoys cooking and has a passion for live music.
Jane Dodds - Liberal Democrats


Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds 
The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017, she was born and raised in Wrexham. A Welsh speaker, she studied in Cardiff and trained to be a social worker.
She has previously been a councillor in London. In 2015 and 2017, she was a candidate in Montgomeryshire. She was made the candidate for Brecon and Radnorshire in 2019 after a ballot of members.
She says she wants to "reinvigorate" the party and called on members to "lead the fight on Brexit, climate change, poverty and lonelines.
 The Brexit PartyThe Brexit Party has said it will field a "local candidate" but no candidate has yet been named.
As I indicated above  for Plaid to stand aside for the Liberal Democrats , would be a sacrifice and my problem is that although I have constantly mooted the possibility of a progressive alliance  i have doubts it we could trust the Liberal Democrats to use it for their own advantage.

They whilst having a long Pro-EU agenda are banking on this to erase the memory of them being the bag carriers of David Cameron Austerity Program , that in many way saw the growth of the idea that a vote to leave the EU would punish those who have caused misery for many working class people.

If there is going to be one REMAIN candidate in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election then yea it should be a Liberal Democrat , but how much will they thank  or acknowledge those parties who have stood aside?

Monday 24 June 2019

Is Trump operating "Concentration Camps" in the USA?

There is a myth that in the USA Socialists  are incapable of being elected.
Senator Bernie Saunders has represented Vermont  for decades, and often looks like a one man campaign.
But the truth is there have been a number of the Democrat Party that have identified with Socialism  who would indeed be considered on the left of the Labour Party in theuK, but as of late they have failed , they have tended to be subdued by the Democratic Party Caucus
Recently Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused the Trump administration of housing immigrants in concentration camps on the Mexican border and used the phrase “never again” that is associated with the Holocaust

The Washington Post reported that
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) pressed her case Tuesday that the Trump administration is running “concentration camps” at the U.S.-Mexico border amid criticism from Republicans who said she was demeaning Jews exterminated in the Holocaust.
During a live stream Monday night, the freshman lawmaker decried the conditions of migrant detention facilities the administration is using to cope with a surge of border crossings and highlighted a decision to hold some children at an Oklahoma Army base that was used as an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II.
The same base was briefly used to house migrant children during the Obama administration.
“The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing, and we need to do something about it,” Ocasio-Cortez told her viewers on Instagram. She later accused Trump of conducting “an authoritarian and fascist presidency.”
“I don’t use those words lightly,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I don’t use those words to just throw bombs. I use that word because that is what an administration that creates concentration camps is. A presidency that creates concentration camps is fascist, and it’s very difficult to say that.”
Ocasio-Cortez continued making her argument Tuesday morning, sharing on Twitter an Esquire article that raised questions about the conditions at U.S. detention facilities.
The piece by Jack Holmes, the magazine’s politics editor, quoted historians who said the facilities meet the definition of a “concentration camp” and said that not every concentration camp is intended as a death camp.
In another tweet, Ocasio-Cortez dismissed critics of her views as “shrieking Republicans.”
Among those who weighed in was Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the No. 3 Republican in the House.
“Please @AOC do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history,” Cheney wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. “6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this.”
Ocasio-Cortez fired back shortly afterward.
“Hey Rep. Cheney, since you’re so eager to ‘educate me,’ I’m curious: What do YOU call building mass camps of people being detained without a trial?” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “How would you dress up DHS’s mass separation of thousands children at the border from their parents?”
Cheney soon replied.
“Happy to educate you,” she wrote on Twitter, suggesting Ocasio-Cortez read survivor testimonies from Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the book “Night” by Elie Wiesel, an autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in Nazi concentration camps.
It may be true that Concentration camp, internment centre for political prisoners and members of national or minority groups who are confined for reasons of state security, exploitation, or punishment, usually by executive decree or military order. Persons are placed in such camps often on the basis of identification with a particular ethnic or political group rather than as individuals and without benefit either of indictment or fair trial. Concentration camps are to be distinguished from prisons interning persons lawfully convicted of civil crimes and from prisoner-of-war camps in which captured military personnel are held under the laws of war. They are also to be distinguished from refugee camps or detention and relocation centres for the temporary accommodation of large numbers of displaced person .

But they should also be distinguished fro extermination camps and the British were one of the first to use concentration camps during the Boer War.

If we are to use historical references then Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is right and what the Trump administration is doing resembled a concentration camp rather than a refugee camps or detention and relocation centres 

Where  Kids locked up by the Trump administration don't necessarily need soap, toothbrushes, or even an appropriate place to sleep in order for their stay to be "safe and sanitary," Trump administration attorneys argued on Tuesday.
"It's within everybody's common understanding that if you don't have a toothbrush, you don't have soap, you don't have a blanket, those are not safe and sanitary," Judge A. Wallace Tashima told a Justice Department lawyer during the hearing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump's lawyer disagreed, claiming kids detained by the federal government may not need those things depending on the length of their stay.