We should compete as Cymru and not Wales at all sporting events.

If Scotland had voted YES in the Olympic Referendum then the negotiations would probably have  not been completed  by the time of the current Rio games but for many of us in Wales may have had a tear in the eye to here the team from  Escocia  being announced among the teams in the opening ceremony.

Of course it would be nothing as compared to hearing  Pays de Gales  entering the arena.

But if the recent European Football Championship  proved  raising our profile on the World Stage does us no harm  at all.

We may have a problem  in promoting Cymru as a  the real name of our Nation though as the host country may use a version of Wales as our name hence the  Portuguese " Pays de Gales" that would have been used in Brazil  if we were to have entered as an Independent Nation.

But one place we could start is the Common Wealth Games  where I would prefer us to enter the Arena  in the opening ceremony as Cymru rather  than at the back as Wales.

Indeed it would be somewhat symbolic of how we see ourselves in the World.

As a Independent Nation forging our own Place i the World or stil tied to the "For Wales see England" mentality  .

Maybe its time this was pushed  in the Assembly  and our sporting bodies encouraged to use Cymru  as often as  possible.

It would also nice to see Cornwall or rather Kernow competing in the Commonwealth Games 

The United Kingdom competes as its separate Home Nations, Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies


 if Jersey and Guernsey can enter. Why not  our Celtic cousins ?

Hopefully Scotland will enter the arena in Tokyo in 2020 as an Independent Nation.

It is somewhat sad for the best I can hope for is for  for us to enter  as Cymru  for the Gold Coast Commonwealth  Games in Australia 2018 but its a start.

If Corbyn Wins we will have the Red Tories running Labour.

In some ways Jeremy Corbyn's leadership campaign resebles resembles the rise of support for Podemos (United We Can Unidos in Apain) and SYRIZA the Coalition of the Radical Left - Unitary Social Front in Grrece.

It consists of people disillusioned  with the leadership of the established Left who have drifted to the right  and abandoned many of the principle  that they were founded on.


Corbyn is different though although he conducted huge rallies including Meredith and Swansea and people wove Red Flags  it is not a support for a  political movement 

But  an attempt to change an existing party 

The Problem of course is clear even if Corbyn was to win and I sincerely  hope that he does . It may not mean that the Part will change.


He will still have an Parliamentary Labour Party hostile to him and indeed the membership that elected him.

 It took less than a year for them to oust him and if he was to win how can they pretend to accept the membership views even when they give Corbyn another Mandate oosibly evenn larger than last year,

Will they rally around him ,join his cabinet or will they continue to heckle him and  sabotaging  his leadership .

Owen Smith has been spouting support for many of the polices that Corbyn and the Left  have been calling for for decades.

The Corbyn problem s that people are placing their faith in one man and not the movement as a whole.

If on the strength of his popularity Corbyn was to become Prime Minister and I believe it could happen who will he have around him that he can trust.

OK no politician trusts can trust those  around him  or her  but they usually do not start conspiring against a new Prime Minister the moment they enter Number Ten.

Corbyn may find that he is joined by a few more Left Wingers as the Party will be opening up its selection of candidates  as new constituency boundaries are taken in to force,

Incidentally a process which saw Jeremy selected for Islington North  

The Question is not so much is Jeremy Corbyn electable? ( I believe he is) but will the rest of the Labour Party be worth electing?

Alas I think not we will see the same faces  reelected  who may mouth some Progressive Left polices  but for the most will be largely indistinguishable  from the Tories opposite it them.

In Wales and Scotland  and Cornwall the Nationalists Party offer a centre  left alternative and there is still hope for the Greens in England.

But for many people over the Boarder there is still little choice not even the Lib Dems who are still toxic after their role as the Tories bag carriers.

I sincerely hope  that  Corbyn wins but I suspect those thousands who gathered in Merthyr and Swansea yesterday will have to look outside  Labour  for the Progressive Left representation they need.

Labour Leadership Debate in Cardiff : Wales offered nothing.

Was there any specific question about  Labour's attitude to devolution in lat night  Labour leadership Debate in Cardiff last night?

Owen Smith did mention Ukip winning seven seats in the Welsh Assembly elections but he appears to have tried to blame Mr Corbyn for this rather than the Liassez Faire attitude of colleagues in the Assembly.

If there was any mention of strengthening the Devolution package  then I would expect the Wasting Mule to report it ,

But there seems to have been little mention of Wales from both sides.

In a separate article  Wales Online a issue that does not seem to have been discussed was highlighted 

"However, Mr Smith can expect questions about whether a non-English MP can be Prime Minister at a time when health and education are devolved.

Huw Lewis, an expert in Welsh politics at Aberystwyth University, said: “

"At the moment, particularly London coverage hasn’t really picked up on the fact that he is a Welsh MP representing a Welsh constituency... It will be interesting to see if it comes up as an issue during the debate over the summer...
“One would expect if he does win that it would be something that would become a contentious issue.”

When Stephen Crabb made his  futile attempt to lead the Conservatives amd replace Davis Cameron in number 10 

Tom Newton Dunn, political editor of the Sun said a “senior Tory source” had pointed out a “constitutional problem” with the leadership bid: “As a Welsh MP, he can’t vote for English-only laws”.

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Senior Tory source points out a constitutional problem with Crabb's leadership bid: "As a Welsh MP, he can't vote for English-only laws".

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So far this has not seemed to be mentioned  in Labour contest but if Mr Owen were to win I bet his current friends in the Unionist Media will be rasing this at the bnext General Election.


I imagine that the devolution question  will be raised with both contenders in Scotland  and it will be interesting to see what they have to offer Wales .

It could well be that we may see both offering concessions to Scotland and England whilst Wales is ignored.

Neither Mr Corbyn or Owen Smith  seem to have come up with any new policy facing the future of the devolved powers and the English Question"?

I suggest that those in Wales and Scotland who have flocked to Mr Corbyn Banner  ask him  where he stands.

We already know where Own Smith stands he clearly would oppose any attempt for Wales to have parity  with Scotland.

At least it saves him from the dilemma  of being the leader of a Party and even Prime Minister and  finding that he has to sit on the government benches when his English MPs vote extended further when Welsh MPs are excluded under even more EVEL.

The Latvian Song and Dance Festival rivals our Eisteddfod.

In an article on Wales Online Wasting Mule Columnist  attempts to give a "balanced "view  of the storm over the supposed snub to the Welsh side by the National Eisteddfod Gorsedd

She writes  that 

People start pointing out that Welsh soccer success was the biggest global advert the Welsh language has ever had as everyone from Adidas to Gary Lineker spent the summer tweeting yn Gymraeg.
The integration of Welsh into the squad’s communications strategy was also beautifully organic. So how could the Eisteddfod “snub” our sporting heroes?
Then the Eisteddfod says ‘hang on a minute, don’t blame us, we’re separate to the Gorsedd and we’d invited the team to the Maes anyway’.

Plus the bards have their nominations sewn up by the end of February while no members of the Welsh football squad were nominated for the Gorsedd and no member of the team was refused the honour.
And it all fizzles out bar the odd Facebook posting from bilinguals harrumphing at the monoglots’ ignorance of bardic etiquette and non-Welsh speakers rolling their eyes at the rigid rules of men in white sheets.
It was another rather unedifying chapter in the long narrative of tetchiness, touchiness and tension between those who can and can’t speak the language. Though it’s also fair to say there are plenty of Welsh speakers who would love to see our footballers enrobed on the Maes.

She fails to acknowledge however that this  that  this "unedifying  chapter " was not helped by the misleading articles by her own media organisation .

She does have ago at rivals however

If a festival that celebrated poetic excellence with such pageantry was held in a remote Latvian village The Guardian would probably devote a colour supplement to it.

Actually The Latvian Song and Dance Festival (Latvian Vispārējie latviešu Dziesmu un Deju svētki) is one of the largest amateur choral events in the world and an important event in Latvian culture and social life. It is also aMasterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The All-Latvian Song and Dance Festival has been held since 1873, normally every five years. During the festivals exhibitions of photography, art and folk craft, orchestra concerts, and a festive parade also take place. Events and competitions leading up to the event occur throughout the period between festivals.

Approximately 30,000 performers altogether participate in the event.^[1] Although usually folksongs and classical choir songs are sung, with emphasis on a cappella singing, recently modern popular songs have been incorporated into the repertoire..

Have a look at this video maybe you see a resemblance?.

During the Soviet invasion and annexation of Latvia in 1940, festivals were continuing in the Latvian SSR, which were celebrating the Soviet Union (to allow its continuous existence). During the occupation the festival tradition was continued in exile, first in Displaced Persons camps after World War II, primarily in the western zones in Germany, then in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The abroad Song and Dance Festival is currently held every four years, alternating between the United States and Canada.

Some years shortly after Latvia gained independence  some friends of mine played hosts to a number of Latvan  Folk Musicians who showed us a video of the the first festival where  many of the exiles were allowed to return, Where they were treated like superstars.

It was very emotional.

There may well be some who think that  there should be a campaign for the Latvians to adopt the Univeral Language of English to make Thur festival "More Open".

I can only imagine the reaction.

We can't exclude Ukip from Welsh debates.

The row has erupted at the Eisteddfod after the National Assembly broke the "Welsh language rule" during an event is a difficult one to resolve.

The BBC reports that 

At a panel held on Monday by the institution UKIP's assembly leader Neil Hamilton contributed in English.
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg called on the Presiding Officer to ensure the situation "would not happen again".
Mr Hamilton said the rule should have exceptions. The assembly said it "genuinely believed" it was adhering to the event's Welsh language principle.
The discussion panel on the maes that prompted the row was held by the assembly's Culture Committee.
All the AMs present there were Welsh speakers, except for Mr Hamilton who is teaching himself Welsh.
The Eisteddfod rules declare that Welsh is the language of the festival.
Jamie Bevan, chairman of the Welsh language society Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said: "It's of grave concern that the rule has been broken.
"The presiding officer and the Eisteddfod should be clear about it when arranging events.
"We would like to receive assurance from the Presiding Officer that this will not happen again."

 Some argue that the Assembly have been over generous  in the allocation of committee seats and certainly Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee 

Bit excluding them would give them the mantle of victim that they crave.

So Neil Hamilton is a member and again mot inviting him to the panel would have allowed him to claim discrimination.

So what can be done , Frankly I don't know .

But there has been some very unfair criticism of Plaid AM Bethan Jenkins  who chairs the committee  as I see it she had no option.

At the last Assembly Ms Jenkins experienced some difficult times 

Early in the hours of Sunday 14 October 2012, Jenkins was arrested by South Wales Police in Llandaff, Cardiff for driving erratically. When tested, she was more than twice the legal limit, but was released on police bail without a charge for drink driving. Jenkins subsequently issued a statement, stating that there were "no excuses" for what she had done, and that she had resigned her position as Plaid's spokeswoman on heritage, the Welsh language and sport. Her statement also stated that she had been receiving professional medical help for depression. On Monday 15 October, Jenkins was suspended from the Plaid group of AMs "while the process of justice takes its course".^[1

Since then she  has become one of our nost effective AMs  who was impresive during the Assembly campaign winning the highest sjhare of the vote in Aberavon sibce  1997 and rightly deserves  her position  .

I din't think any Chair of a committee that faces the same problem that Ns Jenkins faced om Monday could have dealt with it differently except for cancelling the panel or moving it off the Maes.

I fully support the All Welsh Rule . but as long as Mondays occurrence does not become the norm , then rather than go overboard  with criticism . We should be seeking solutions.

That's Carwyn for you. No action just another consultation.

The so called rive to almost double the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050 that was unveiled by the first minister at the National Eisteddfod. is somewhat inductive of Labour's  running of the Welsh since its formation Assembly  .

It goes something like this

"We know something should be done so we will investigate it indeed set a target but we will then reject or ignore the findings and in a few years start again".

It is the strategy  of  appearing be trying to solve a problem  is more important than actually getting results.

Those of you who remember  Sir Humphrey Appleby,of "Yes Minister Fame " will see that he survives in the Assembly

"Sir Humphrey is a master of obfuscation and manipulation, often making long-winded statements such as, "In view of the somewhat nebulous and inexplicit nature of your remit, and the arguably marginal and peripheral nature of your influence within the central deliberations and decisions within the political process, there could be a case for restructuring their action priorities in such a way as to eliminate your liquidation from their immediate agenda."^[2] He is committed to maintaining the status quo for the country in general and for the Civil Service in particular, and will stop at nothing to do so—whether that means baffling his opponents with technical jargon, strategically appointing allies to supposedly impartial boards, or setting up an interdepartmental committee to immobilise his Minister's proposals withred tape. 

Wikepedia 

Hence commission  after commission   over increasing the Assembly powers whose recommendations are either watered down or ignored.

The same for the Language

In 2013 Carwyn  Jones announced that the government would develop a "big conversation" – "Y Gynhadledd Fawr" – bringing all parts of society together to work out how to halt the decline of the Language.

He said at the time 

There are serious challenges facing the Welsh language in the years ahead. There are major challenges for us as a government but we cannot work alone.
"Among the aims must be to make Welsh a living language, especially among young people outside the school gates."
He said the "big conversation" would be about giving everybody a say in how to develop language policies. "The aim is to develop a conversation among all parts of Welsh society about how best to move forward.
"I believe most people in Wales want our language to grow and strengthen in the years ahead and that's why it's crucial that everyone now plays their part."

 In response to the claims that it was just another consultation  "A million is ambitious and it is important that we ensure that we listen to experts around us so that the target is met.", Mr Jones said:

 "The target didn't exist before the election."A million is ambitious and it is important that we ensure that we listen to experts around us so that the target is met."

Three years of a National Conversation   and  what do we get a Target!

So we have  Ministers the launch of another consultation at the National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, on Monday cited a growing demand for Welsh-medium education as a reason to be positive.

There were some proposals were outlined under six key areas for discussion:

• Planning - how to make the Welsh language part of every aspect of life
• Everyday life - encourage people to use Welsh and respect those who speak it
• Education - how to introduce people to Welsh in school, college and adult learning
• People - passing the language on to children and using it in the workplace
• Support - through dictionaries and digital tools and Welsh language media
• Rights - ensure laws promoting the official status and use of Welsh remain effective

But proposals are all we get , There is no indication of an an actual new Welsh Language Act.only a figure of one million speakers by  the year 2050.

Jamie Bevan, chairman of the Welsh language society Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said many reports had been commissioned and published since then but "not implemented in full".

He said: 

"It's a shock that the government is beginning another consultation.
"Welsh as a vibrant community language is on its knees - we're losing 3,000 speakers a year at the moment."

At the rate we are going see that  rather than have one million Welsh speakers by 2050. We will finally see concrete  legislation to promote the use of the language.

Alas I will probably not be there to celebrate it .

Would Andrew R. T, Davies have accepted a Welsh veto if we voted Remain?

Walws Onlinw  has Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies telling  Labour and Plaid Cymru to get over the result of the EU referendum and start exploiting new opportunities

He writes 

Anyone who has fought an election will be able to empathise with the feeling you get when you’re on the wrong side of the result. But you pick yourself up, dust yourself down and make the most of the situation you find yourself in. Or at least that’s what you’re supposed to do.
Sadly, that’s not been the reaction of much of the political establishment here in Wales to the result of the EU referendum.
Instead of accepting the result and seeking a positive outcome for a post-Brexit Wales, there is a sense of active hostility to it from the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru. A profoundly toxic political narrative is emerging; a sense that they are privately willing it to fail.
Carwyn Jones has ruled out cross-party co-operation on Brexit, and admits that he sees no value in involving those who campaigned for a Vote to leave in the negotiations. Leanne Wood responded to the result with impressive arrogance.
They voted to leave the European Union and they want to see politicians making a success of our new relationship with the continent – not engaging in petty student politics designed to create prolonged uncertainty and unsettle people.Despite the warnings of the architects of project fear, disaster has so far been averted. If you stockpiled tinned food and powdered milk for the Brexit fall-out it’s time to start putting it to use.

Interesting  isn't it  Mr Davies may be right in his argument that Wales is an Euro Sceptic Nation 

But if you read his argument  then surely it means that if Wales had voted to leave would he be arguing  that Wales should not be taken out of the EU against its will?

He accuses  Leanne Wood  of arrogance  and he says

Never mind that the people of Wales want to leave the EU, her party now plans to campaign for an independent Wales to rejoin it.

But can he answer the question 

"What if Wales voted to Remain!?

Would he arguing that "Wales is a Europhile Nation" and that the views of her people should be taken into account?

Or would he argue that the vote should be taken  only in a UK and Northern Ireland  contest.?

Well we don't know what he would do about Wales, but Scotland voted to Remain by a huge majority .

So does he accept the right of Scotland to  veto  Brexit..

Or are his words about Wales  just hot air and he is a Unionist politician  who obeys his London Masters?

You can't simply chose to claim the will of the people of Wales should be obeyed so long as it's the same as the rest if the  UK and Northern Ireland .