tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75506390313250239702012-01-30T17:48:33.111ZPlaid Cymru Monmouth BlogPlaid Cymru, the Party Of Wales, news, comment, observations and opinion from the South East corner of the old historic county of Gwent...Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.comBlogger6461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-83048312522937013352012-01-30T17:44:00.001Z2012-01-30T17:48:33.118ZA WAFER THIN BLUE LINE?At the moment, despite Teresa May (who may actually turn out to be a worse Home Secretary that Michael Howard) there are some 136,000 officers spread across the 43 forces in England and Wales. These figures for the number of police officers in England and Wales record a fall of 6,000 over the past year, as public spending cuts have bitten deep. Interestingly enough if you want to play the numbersJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-43105548821486202482012-01-29T11:53:00.000Z2012-01-29T11:53:08.091ZSLEEPING IN THE ARMCHAIR FOR WALESTo be honest, it did shock me, even though it shouldn't – just to clarify I am not talking about Newport County's away win against Gateshead (and the much needed three points). I am talking about the news that the Con Dem Government teamed up with the party formerly known as New Labour to arguing against using European funding to electrify the Great Western Line to Swansea.
The potential new Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-30575889741169156112012-01-27T17:07:00.000Z2012-01-27T17:07:34.409ZWHAT PRICE DEVELOPMENT?Human Rights Watch continues to expose the realities of the Ethiopian governments development programme; with its “villagization” program. This foreign funded development programme is currently forcibly relocating approximately 70,000 indigenous people from the western Gambella region to new villages. The deportees upon arrival have found that they lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare, and Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-57589812109592962672012-01-26T20:00:00.000Z2012-01-26T20:00:03.890ZHIGH COURT BLUESThe successful legal challenge, launched by Friends of the Earth and two solar power companies, against the UK Government’s arbitrary decision to bring in early cuts to solar power subsidies, should be welcomed. This High Court verdict says that the Government's plans were "legally flawed" and should now see thousands of businesses and homes eligible for higher payments. This result while being aJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-10072137506333265462012-01-25T17:40:00.000Z2012-01-25T17:40:52.833ZA NUMBERS GAMENews that the Turkish Republic has (too put it mildly) “reacted with anger” to news that the French Senate has (finally) approved a bill making it a crime to deny that genocide was committed by Ottoman Turks against the Armenian's during World War I should not come as much of a shock. So it would not be much of a surprise that the Turkish foreign ministry has loudly branded the decision "Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-83391085509797865122012-01-24T17:15:00.000Z2012-01-24T17:15:01.313ZTHE LAST BANK IN TOWNThe efforts by local people and business people in Blaenavon to resist the proposed closure of the HSBC branch (the only bank in the town) on Broad Street, Blaenavon should be supported. They have rightly pointed out that the loss of the bank would be a real blow to Blaenavon, as it would force shoppers elsewhere and taking business away from the town.
Local campaigners have rightly pointed outJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-59580540140984660182012-01-20T15:14:00.000Z2012-01-20T15:14:42.360ZGROWING GREEN JOBSNews that Chepstow based manufacturer Mabey Bridge has won a multi-million pound order to build 35 wind turbine towers for UK sites is good news. The firm has taken on 45 people and transferred 50 more to its factory in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, after the deal with German company Nordex. Some of the towers will go to the Pant-y-Wal wind farm in Rhondda and the rest will go to Scotland. Mabey Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-47240103007256433752012-01-18T17:23:00.000Z2012-01-18T17:23:40.847ZA BIT OF GIVE AND TAKE (MOSTLY TAKE)
A nice little earner...
The news that the members of the energy cartel plan to cut our domestic energy charges will be warmly welcomed by hard pressed customers. EDF Energy started the ball rolling announcing plans to cut a typical gas bill for UK domestic customers by £38, or around 5%, from 7th February. This move, which affected around 1.4 million customers, followed a sharp fall in the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-11297841523359046642012-01-17T17:31:00.000Z2012-01-17T17:31:51.991ZTIME FOR SOME CELTIC FRINGE BENEFITS?If the Unionists want the Union to work then one of the bottom lines has to be fair funding for Wales, we have been net contributors to the central coffers for a few hundred years. The Westminster Government brought in the Beeching rail cuts that decimated the railway network in Wales (thanks for that by the way – that really helped!). Since Beeching we have had an ill-thought out rail Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-83979731536342751302012-01-15T13:42:00.000Z2012-01-15T13:42:11.458ZTHE BRAND LEADING THE BLANDIf Mrs Thatcher could be described as ‘the blond leading the bland’, then Tony Blair could equally have been described as ‘the brand leading the bland’. New Labour once famously said that it was more than comfortable to spend time in the company of the rich and shameless. Since Blair walked away from it all in June 2007 he has become a very marketable brand. He has done a number of deals which Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-20282918377716257142012-01-14T14:11:00.000Z2012-01-14T14:11:20.339ZTHE WELSH CONNECTION?Isn't it a little odd that the UK Westminster Government has not so quietly committed itself to spending the best part of £500 million pounds on providing tunnelling for the proposed new High Speed (HS2) railway from London to Birmingham, which happens to go through the constituency of a Cabinet minister. Specifically that of case Cheryl Gillan MP (the Welsh Secretary) and who according to David Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-75581818777740126512012-01-13T17:19:00.000Z2012-01-13T17:19:26.498ZDEMOCRACY IN BURMARecent visits by Hilary Clinton and William Hague to Burma and the support shown to Aung San Suu Kyi and the democrats should hopefully help Burma make the transition back to democracy. As Burma makes its slow transition from military rule towards democracy, some unfinished business is also being concluded. One may suspect that one thing that William Hague did not raise in his discussions with Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-24540968667927631432012-01-12T17:38:00.000Z2012-01-12T17:38:52.472ZSIMPLY A BAD DECISION...News that the local Government minister, Carl Sargeant, has announced that the Abergavenny Improvement Acts (1854 – 1871) are to be repealed is bad news. The removal of these old laws, that ensured that a livestock market be held within Abergavenny, may finally open the door to the building of a supermarket on the site of the current livestock market. This move has long been obsessively Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-54057566645826301622012-01-10T17:45:00.000Z2012-01-10T17:45:07.580ZFLASHMAN AND THE PANDAS
It's an interesting fact but there are more Panda's in Scotland than Conservative MP's
David Cameron's ill-advised attempt to try to interfere with the timetabling and the question for the Scottish referendum on independence may yet come back and bite him. It's all pretty simple really, Cameron seems to have (deliberately) missed the point, the bottom line is that Scotland’s future should be Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-30272818780143829032012-01-08T15:05:00.001Z2012-01-08T15:06:56.337ZMANAGED NEWS...
The Night Watch (Rembrandt)
The oft iffy relationship between law enforcement and the modern day inhabitants of Grub (Fleet) Street and alcohol is probably as old as law enforcement itself. Making yourself look good, presenting a coherent managed image and ensuring that it gets distributed via the media probably itself dates back to the days of Julius Caesar. He was the probable inventor and Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-47732323305411938992012-01-06T17:12:00.000Z2012-01-06T17:12:44.772ZTHE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKINGThere is much in the old adage that you don’t chose your football club it chooses you. I have been a long time football fan ever since as a small (and impressionable) child I saw Newport County win three games in a row and put West Ham United out of the FA Cup. That was enough and I have been a supporter ever since, through thick and thin, rain and shine, promotion, relegation, bankruptcy, and Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-29061586950273826292012-01-05T20:29:00.000Z2012-01-05T20:29:27.545ZA CASE OF UNISON NO MORE...While I have no problem with the public sector workers recent strike action in defence of their Pension rights, and fully support the right to withdraw ones labour in the event of dispute, I have become entirely disillusioned with Unison. Part of the problems is that Unison is so monolithic that is straddles far too many diverse sections of the world of work, and part of the problem is Unison's Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-81260554704679142472012-01-04T18:58:00.000Z2012-01-04T18:58:13.368ZA TEST OF CHARACTER?One judge of character is how you behave when called to make a stand for your friends when they are in trouble. I mention this because oddly enough the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has done some digging that may shed a slightly different perspective on David Cameron's decision to stand up for the City of London, rather than the rest of us. Now it turns out that some of the city of London's Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-15624566293946754662012-01-03T17:09:00.000Z2012-01-03T17:09:10.033ZSECOND CLASS CITIZENS?On January 1st tolls for cars on the Severn bridges rose to £6, vans and small buses now pay £12.10 and heavy goods vehicles and coaches now pay £18.10. This is an effective and very lucrative private tax on jobs and business which impacts on both sides of the estuary. This side of the water, New Labour’s Westminster sheep persistently bleated (between 1997 and 2010) that nothing could be done toJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-33239760576895822282011-12-23T16:05:00.000Z2011-12-23T16:05:36.338ZABSOLUTE CERTAINTIES...As one year passes and another one beckons there are some certainties in modern life, one of which is the post-Christmas train fare rises. As of January 1st train fares will rise by an average of 5.9%. For what it's worth, in his Autumn Statement last month, the Con Dem Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne capped fare increases at 6%, instead of the expected 8%. Since privatisation, rail Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-36289171958559119792011-12-22T11:00:00.000Z2011-12-22T11:00:46.509ZALL IN IT TOGETHER...The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has rightly criticised "cosy" deals between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and big businesses over the way they settle their tax bills. Serious concerns have been expressed by MP’s about just exactly how some of the large tax settlements were reached. MPs believe that potentially there may be some £25 billion pounds worth of outstanding tax issues Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-14850192085863229662011-12-21T09:40:00.000Z2011-12-21T09:40:50.121ZALEXEI NAVALNY RELEASED
Alexei Navalny (REUTERS)
Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption blogger and a key figure in the rallies after Russia's disputed parliamentary elections, has been released from prison in Moscow. He served fifteen in custody for “obstructing police“ and was freed this morning in the early hours. Mr Navalny told journalists and reporters that "extraordinary efforts" would be made to continue the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-65790890176764347192011-12-20T18:58:00.000Z2011-12-20T18:58:54.891ZPOWER TO THE PEOPLE? PERHAPS NOT...News that the Con Dem Government has brought in the planned reduction of the feed-in tariff before the consultation process has even closed should not come a much of a surprise. The consultation process runs until Friday, 23rd December yet the changes to the feed in tariff were brought in on Monday, 12th December – so much for consultation. Friends of the Earth and two solar power companies have Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-88916235570063569362011-12-18T13:22:00.000Z2011-12-18T13:22:28.850ZVACLAV HAVEL (1936 - 2011)
Vaclav Havel 1936 - 2011
News that Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic's first president after the Velvet Revolution against communist rule, has died at the age of 75 will sadden many and bring back memories of the revolutions that swept Eastern Europe in the autumn of 1989. Havel a former dissident playwright, had suffered from prolonged ill-health, died this (Sunday) morning. Havel was born in Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-54862817462707389222011-12-16T17:33:00.000Z2011-12-16T17:33:08.651ZPAYING THE PRICE FOR A FREE PRESSGadzhimurat Kamalov, the founder of a newspaper that has reported on corruption and police abuses in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan, was shot dead outside the offices of his newspaper Chernovik ("rough draft"), in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala, on Thursday. Kamalov founded the newspaper in 2003 and had edited it for several years and remained its publisher until his death.
The Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-47603095025448785392011-12-15T16:20:00.000Z2011-12-15T16:20:56.602ZTOO MUCH MOANING...News that the Committee on Members Expenses has recommended that MPs should scrutinise their own expenses should come as no surprise. Some MPs have called for the reinstatement of the much discredited Fees' Office which was deeply involved in the revelations in 2009. If these moaning MP's get their way, then we could be one small step away from returning to the old discredited expenses system, Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-16127445487285080682011-12-14T18:02:00.000Z2011-12-14T18:02:13.626ZREGENERATION: A PROCESSES NOT AN EVENT?There was a time when most Government’s would at least pander to the idea of taking a longer more thought out view when it comes to economic development. They would at least try to provide the best conditions and framework to enable the private sector to grow and flourish. Sadly while that concept appears to have quietly died sometime in the 1980’s as politicians concentrated on short term Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-83658190561765076002011-12-12T18:08:00.000Z2011-12-12T18:08:49.021ZTIME FOR A REAL RUSSIAN REVOLUTION?The current wave of demonstrations and protests in Russia over what outside observers have said were seriously flawed elections are important, but, they may not yet be another Russian revolution, even though one is well overdue. The focus of the protests have been Vladimir Putin (current Prime Minister and previous two-term President) and his ruling United Russia party, who has stated his Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-81282296649415772632011-12-10T13:40:00.000Z2011-12-10T13:40:47.064ZFANTASY BARRAGE
FANTASY BARRAGE
When I was a child there was a TV programme called Fantasy Island, now it seems we have Fantasy Barrage, which makes much of promising all things to all people – but at a price (financially we are now talking about up to £34 billion pounds). The resurrection of the Severn Barrage scheme (once again) could make you wonder about the sanity (financial or otherwise) of some of the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-12023961669625799192011-12-09T17:21:00.000Z2011-12-09T17:21:30.593ZONE STEP BEYOND...News that the Chancellor, George Osborne has promised to look at the cost of the Severn Bridge tolls, after halving Humber Bridge fees in his Autumn Statement last week is interesting news. There may be a deal on the Severn crossings as the Chancellor is willing if not keen to talk to the Welsh government. From January 1st Tolls for cars on the Severn bridges are due to rise to £6, while vans andJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-31574463773761877012011-12-08T18:04:00.000Z2011-12-08T18:04:16.729ZNOT ON OUR BEHALF...So David Cameron is to travel to Brussels for a major EU summit on the eurozone debt crisis. Both Germany and France are keen to have a new EU treaty which would include measures to stop a repeat of the problems threatening the euro's future. Cameron is under increasing pressure from the anti-Europe wing of Tory MPs who want him to resist moves to strengthen the power of Brussels over EU members.Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-28152650188541547842011-12-06T18:37:00.000Z2011-12-06T18:37:06.096ZHAS ANYONE TOLD DAVE...News that the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, desires action to be taken in the New Year (after due consultation) to improve transparency and curb excessive executive pay packages in the public sector, should welcomed. The move, is apparently, intended to ensure that public sector workers don’t feel they were bearing the brunt of the cuts while their bosses are not. The Deputy PM indicated Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-21875615037567295102011-12-05T21:24:00.000Z2011-12-05T21:24:33.855ZSTILL SENDING OUR TREASURE TO LONDON...A Roman ring found near Caerphilly has been returned by the British Museum for permanent display in the Winding House Museum at New Tredegar to put on permanent display. The silver ring, around 2,000 years old, was found on Cefn Brithdir, in the Darran Valley, earlier this year by a man with a metal detector. The finder alerted the authorities to his discovery and the ring was passed to the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-27495655257331059052011-12-02T17:48:00.000Z2011-12-02T17:48:35.860ZAN ACUTE LACK OF FAIRNESS...I spent the first half of the week on a very intensive training course (complete with an exam - which thankfully I passed) so I missed the strike day entirely. It's literally taken until today for the deprogramming to kick in and to put thought to blog. Wednesday came and went, the Conservatives are feeling good, having a pop at the Unions over strikes for the Tories is like playing to a familiarJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-21660014125924964482011-11-27T11:37:00.000Z2011-11-27T11:37:32.619ZPEAK WHAT?Over recent years there has been much talk of peak this and peak that, one thing that may have slipped by is the possibility that we may be less than 30 years away from reaching peak Phosphorus. So what people might say, what's that to do with me... a lot is the answer.
As the population of our planet comes close to the 8 billion mark around 2025 (9 billion by 2050) the struggle to feed Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-30334437147635100582011-11-25T17:29:00.000Z2011-11-25T17:29:26.135ZA VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR...Even in times of economic uncertainty at this time of year people are looking forward to Christmas and the New Year – and if they live in the southern half of our country they have been bracing themselves for the latest rise in the Severn Bridge Tolls. So news that the Severn bridge tolls will rise from £5.70 to £6 pound per car (an increase of 30 pence), small goods vehicles and small buses willJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-51769974731351863272011-11-24T19:54:00.000Z2011-11-24T19:54:31.500ZA PETITION WORTH SIGNING’We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh government to recall all Local Development Plans across Wales and to scrap the use of population projections issued by the Statistical Directorate that are used to inflate housing numbers in local development plans.
We call for all LDPs at whatever stage of development to be halted immediately in order to bring the level of housingJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-77472759331633791572011-11-23T18:02:00.000Z2011-11-23T18:02:20.132ZCYNICS ANONYMOUS...My name if Jonathan, and I have a problem with cynicism! Perhaps I have been in the game (politics) for too long and seen too much, but, when I hear the phrase 'there will be a consultation process' I do tend to think that it has more to do with managing public opinion after a decision has been made. Hand on heart, I openly admit that I am something of a cynic and that I struggle with my cynicismJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-71977496477166519862011-11-22T21:13:00.000Z2011-11-22T21:13:06.375ZONE HAND IN THE BALLOT BOX...Labour in Wales has a long history of putting self-interest and party-interest before the interests and needs of the Welsh people. Now they are really taking the biscuit by proposing 'a reform' of the electoral system that would give them around 70% of the seats in the National Assembly with barely 42% of the vote.
An Electoral Reform Society report has shone a little light on labour in Wales's Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-68494163161940210392011-11-21T18:34:00.000Z2011-11-21T18:34:53.526ZA WELL-HEELED DICTATORSHIP…Things may be looking up for the repressive Communist dictatorship in Cuba as an expected scramble to exploit and develop toil reserves in Cuban territorial waters begins. International oil companies from Spain, Norway, Russia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada, Angola, Venezuela, and the Peoples Republic of China (oddly enough there are none from the USA) are literally falling over themselves to Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-90311457222190260082011-11-20T12:19:00.000Z2011-11-20T12:19:45.749ZTIME TO CALL IN A FEW FAVOURS?
Saif al-Islam - Photo: Ismail Zitouni/Reuters
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son / spawn of Muammar Gaddafi, was captured yesterday near the southern Libyan oil town of Obari, as his armed companions were trying to smuggle him out of the country. The fact that he threw in the towel unlike his old man is currently being held in custody means that he might avoid an immediate and violent retributionJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-45820809272083222062011-11-18T17:32:00.000Z2011-11-18T17:32:43.505ZPROSIECT GWYRDDNews that the National Assembly for Wales’ petitions committee have agreed to examine Prosiect Gwyrdd on the request of objectors from all over south east Wales is good news. The committee has decided to examine the scheme which was set up by five councils, including Newport, Monmouthshire, Caerphilly, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Local campaigners against the plan have pointed out that theJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-1868273317085211672011-11-17T18:44:00.000Z2011-11-17T18:44:56.658ZANOTHER BROKEN TORY PROMISE...Here we go again, yet another broken Westminster promise, when the Tories were in opposition they pledged to introduce an award to honour the Arctic convoy veterans who took supplies to Russia via Murmansk and Archangel in the Second World War. Back in January 2011, the Prime Minister stated that the sailors who served on the hazardous voyages had "missed out" and more should be done to recogniseJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-58243610217538557102011-11-16T18:51:00.000Z2011-11-16T18:51:14.070ZANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE...News that Network Rail is finally creating a separate division for Wales. This move will allow investment decisions about tracks and stations to be taken in here in Wales. This move should be welcomed, it's a bit late but in the end it is the thought that counts. This follows a UK Government report that recommended decentralisation of the network to boost efficiency - that also took them a while.Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-77274189300832023202011-11-14T19:53:00.000Z2011-11-14T19:53:08.827ZWHICH BIT OF 'NO' DON'T YOU GET?The knowledge that the UK Government has accepted FIFA assurances that Welsh football independence would not be threatened by the creation of the 'British Olympic football team' does not surprise me. Aside form the fact that we are not necessarily dealing with the sharpest tools in the box here, the problem may be made more complicated by the problem of differentiation. By this I mean there are Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-31352645642815417182011-11-13T14:04:00.000Z2011-11-13T14:04:59.810ZSPOT ON...There is little I can add to Grangetown Jack's well articulated article on Labour in Wales' musings on representative democracy, entitled 'Join Plaid Cymru - to Save Wales from Labour', he is spot on in his observations. We have finally reached the point where Labour in Wales are beneath contempt, putting party and self-interest before the national interest.Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-42777533434070273852011-11-11T16:27:00.000Z2011-11-11T16:27:13.925ZSTRANGE BEDFELLOWS...A report by Human Rights Watch has called on the Arab League to suspend Syria, saying the abuses against civilians in Homs are crimes against humanity. The US-based group's report makes grim reading documenting arbitrary detention, deaths in custody, torture, enforced disappearances, and systematic unlawful killing of civilians in the city of Homs (and elsewhere in Syria) by Syrian Government Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-66534779411653431482011-11-10T18:07:00.000Z2011-11-10T18:07:20.200ZOUR PLACE IN THE CYBER SUN…A recent survey of Welsh businesses and consumers suggests that a majority of both support the idea of our nation getting its own domain name. Nominet suggests that 69% of consumers backed the move and 59% of Welsh businesses and other bodies. A sample of 1,003 individuals - 21% of whom were Welsh speakers - and 250 senior decision makers in Welsh organisations was used. Seems pretty reasonable Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-33166789655610724092011-11-09T19:36:00.000Z2011-11-09T19:36:15.049ZHE WHO PAYS THE PIPER?Almost quietly, almost unnoticed and certainly unheralded at least in this part of Western Europe the Nord Stream gas pipeline has come on-line which enables Russia to ship commercial natural gas supplies to Western and Central Europe. The gas pipeline, currently one of the world's longest submerged pipelines has not been without controversy. The pipeline project, which was actively pushed by theJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-69417902410845841332011-11-07T20:47:00.000Z2011-11-07T20:47:55.760ZSCOTLAND BACKING DEVO MAXJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-64764203217449473852011-11-04T16:44:00.003Z2011-11-04T16:45:59.187ZSHIPPING EMISSIONSThe Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has recommended that greenhouse gas emissions from shipping should be included in the UK's climate change budgets. The Climate Change Act has committed the UK to cutting all its climate-changing emissions by 80% - based on 1990 levels - by 2050. At the moment, however, international aviation and shipping emissions are not currently included. If the Con Dem Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-68195366986766067642011-11-01T17:44:00.000Z2011-11-01T17:44:48.696ZA LUXURY WE CANNOT AFFORD…The Con Dem Government has announced that it is going to cut the subsidy for solar power by half for new installations from 12th December. Solar panel makers and solar panel installers are concerned that the cut may lead to the loss of thousands of jobs and a reduction in investment in this form of renewable energy. This decision also means that consumers who register for the scheme after that Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-23366841615518398282011-10-31T19:10:00.000Z2011-10-31T19:10:19.382ZVETERANS INQUIRYNews that MPs are going to look at the services and support provided for our veterans and service personnel returning from active service duty is to be welcomed. Around 250,000 armed forces veterans live in Wales and their treatment will be looked at by the Commons' Welsh Affairs Committee. The inquiry will look at the support offered to former personnel and will ask whether government Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-45838284543043244442011-10-30T16:24:00.000Z2011-10-30T16:24:48.793ZTOO LITTLE TOO LATE?While the Welsh Government's decision to allow ordinary people a say on whether or not the Abergavenny Improvement Acts, which ensure the presence of a livestock market in Abergavenny, is welcome, this is is very close to a case of being too little too late and its not good enough. Before Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) can, acting as judge, jury, executioners and beneficiary, financially Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-45239695245464032162011-10-28T19:27:00.001+01:002011-10-28T19:28:03.814+01:00NO MORE EXCUSES...Once again there have been more calls for action in relation to finishing the Ebbw Vale line link into Newport. Fresh Welsh Government transport statistics have shown that some 122,000 journeys took place from the Valleys county to Cardiff (in 2009/2010) in comparison to 2,900 to Newport stations which has no direct link from the Ebbw Vale line.
The South Wales Argus, local people and Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-45877782298242661592011-10-27T18:19:00.001+01:002011-10-27T18:19:51.225+01:00THE UNION...DISCUSS...News that Scotland with full control of it's territorial waters would be the world's sixth richest country with it's geographical share of North Sea oil may make more than a few people both inside and outside of Scotland and sit up and take note. The SNP's John Swinney, in his keynote address to his party's conference, makes the point that UK government has been reaping the benefits of the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-48519299097472015482011-10-25T19:08:00.000+01:002011-10-25T19:08:38.794+01:00FEED THE WORLD...With the planet's population due to top seven billion very soon worrying about where the next meal is going to come from is going to be a real issue for a significant proportion of us. As our planet's population continues to increase (it's estimated to reach around 9.2 billion people by 2050) there will be a corresponding rise of around 70% in demand for food (UN).Around half of the planet's Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-1681781952384915532011-10-24T17:15:00.000+01:002011-10-24T17:15:01.786+01:00ANOTHER SMALL STEP...Some good news as plans for a £400m energy-from-waste incinerator on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil have been pulled out in the face of serious public opposition, as the campaign against the incinerator has pulled in people from all backgrounds and all communities in Merthyr and Rhymney. Covanta's Brig Y Cwm application was among four proposals initially short-listed by Prosiect Gwyrdd, a Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-10211788573620154182011-10-23T14:44:00.000+01:002011-10-23T14:44:50.037+01:00PASSCHENDAELE MEMORIAL APPEAL LAUNCHED
The mud of Passchendaele
An appeal is being launched to commemorate the hundreds of soldiers from Wales who were killed in the Battle of Passchendaele in Ypres, Belgium. The Passchendaele Society in Belgium wants to raise 60,000 euros (£52,000) for a Welsh memorial. Society organisers hope it will become a memorial to all Welsh soldiers who died in the Great War. The appeal is being launched atJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-43540241938424319302011-10-22T15:32:00.000+01:002011-10-22T15:32:49.490+01:00HAS THE MASK FINALLY SLIPPED…News that David Cameron has directly intervened in an independent inquiry into political funding to demand a more favourable outcome for the Conservatives, should not really come as much of a surprise to most independently minded observers. Nor should the fact that the Conservatives apparently favour a severe clampdown on Labour's trade union donations come as much as a surprise.
The Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-16353854997968686422011-10-21T17:05:00.000+01:002011-10-21T17:05:33.564+01:00THE RIGHT DECISIONThe decision to say no the application for drilling for shale gas at a site in Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan yesterday is to be welcomed. There is a definite need for a pause for thought and a real need for the Welsh government to develop coherent policy in relation to test drilling for shale gas in Wales.
Environmentally there are still too many unanswered questions in relation to the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-58940464853164687792011-10-20T17:23:00.000+01:002011-10-20T17:23:11.232+01:00THUS SHOULD DIE ALL TYRANTS...
He won't be missed...save by his friends
The news that the Libyan ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after fleeing an assault on his home town of Sirte will I suspect lead to the shedding of few tears for his passing. He may be missed by members of his family and his friends but by few other people. There will be more tears from the relatives of his victims and their surviving familyJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-25209160313189614712011-10-19T19:19:00.000+01:002011-10-19T19:19:45.689+01:00WHAT PRICE LIBERTY?BBC Newsnight'S Sue Lloyd-Roberts was smuggled into Homs, which is the scene of some of Syria's strongest anti-government protests and most violent army crackdowns, to see what life is like for people there.
The Syrian city of Homs was one of the first cities to join the Syrian anti-government uprising when it began back in March. Thousands of city residents gathered in the main square to callJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-2876106946993266332011-10-18T17:12:00.000+01:002011-10-18T17:12:58.847+01:00A VERY NEW LABOUR MOMENT!Yesterday David (“Call me Prime Minister”) Cameron called for a "trusted, simple and transparent" market – simples everything is fine now. Now quite – anybody who thought for a moment that at the end of the energy summit that their energy bill was going to drop, seriously needs to have their head read. That's not what this was about this was literally David Cameron's Tony Blair moment – the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-67084225951969454292011-10-17T17:42:00.000+01:002011-10-17T17:42:53.592+01:00OUT OF SIGHT...I have some recollection that when it was suggested that electricity pylons be taken down and electricity cables be put underground in the Snowdonia national park much was made of the cost and the difficulty. Apparently things are different in Scotland where work to remove electricity pylons and to bury the cables in the Cairngorm National Park has been announced.
The pylons are to go as part Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-29492334409159775932011-10-16T14:17:00.001+01:002011-10-16T14:17:34.570+01:00WELL WHAT CAN YOU SAY AFTER THAT?I am still in a profound state of shock after Saturday mornings referee related events 11,500 miles south of where I watched the game. Yesterday afternoon at the football, many in the crowd of Newport County supporters were in a similar state. James Corrigan of the Independent on Sunday has I feel summed up what many people in Wales are feeling, I repost it in it's entirety:
Bitter doesn't even Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-82215835432419141602011-10-13T19:12:00.000+01:002011-10-13T19:12:34.847+01:00JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER AND BENEFICIARYConservative dominated Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) desire to dispose of the cattle market site (and the Cattle Market) in Abergavenny to temporarily boost the local authorities coffers is well known and well documented. Now MCC to fulfil it's development plans has to persuade the National Assembly to repeal the original parliamentary legislation (dating for the 19th century) which gives Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-6566443599418065532011-10-12T18:54:00.000+01:002011-10-12T18:54:13.865+01:00LAND AND POWERAs multi nationals and the People's Republic of China (PRC) continue to chase to attempt to secure control of the worlds resources one thing they are both seeking to secure control of (for different reasons) is food and the land it grows upon. With purchasable governments in certain quarters of the world it's the small farmer who's felling the pinch, losing both his land, the ability to feed his Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-11270648566633300552011-10-07T11:08:00.000+01:002011-10-07T11:08:20.669+01:00PREPARING FOR THE PUSH?With a cabinet reshuffle pending there may be some speculation as to whose going to get the push - Ken Clarke may have moved himself up the list with his spat with Teresa May, along with a few others including possibly the fantastic Dr Fox, who has previous and current form for dropping himself in it, previously he has fluffed up on his expenses and has been the recipient of some odd donations.Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-92082184688028677992011-10-06T16:48:00.000+01:002011-10-06T16:48:38.927+01:00TEN LONG YEARS
The BBC liberates Kabul in 2001
The rout of the Taliban and their flight from Kabul (and most of Afghanistan) following NATO's invasion of Afghanistan (back in 2001) and the relative ease of victory was it turned out somewhat deceptive. If someone had told us ten years ago that some of our service personnel (including some of my relatives) would be effectively commuting to Afghanistan to fight Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-11745432813766719722011-10-05T20:27:00.000+01:002011-10-05T20:27:28.819+01:00DELIVERING THE GREEN JOBS DIVIDENDNews that the Port of Mostyn (on the Flintshire coast) has been chosen to be a base for supporting and maintaining a giant offshore wind, which will create 100 jobs, is good news for the north. The RWE npower deal which is worth £50 million pounds will run for the 25 year life of Gwynt y Môr off-shore wind farm. Once the offshore wind farm once fully operational in 2014 the wind farm is expected Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-71614689625445489162011-10-04T17:57:00.000+01:002011-10-04T17:57:02.959+01:00HIRED HELP?The Conservatives (sorry Con Dems) since coming to power have imposed a bank levy which will raise an estimated £2.5 billion pounds a year. Sounds good and reasonable, unless, you note that during the same period they have slashed corporation tax rates from 28% to 24% which means that any impact on the finance houses in the City will be relatively minimal.
As for the levy itself, which Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-81815786000764104892011-10-03T19:55:00.000+01:002011-10-03T19:55:50.174+01:00THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL...The study commissioned by SEWTA (South East Wales Transport Alliance) amongst other things has recommended that extra trains should run (every two hours) on the line from Newport to Abergavenny, not to mention that Pontypool and New Inn station be developed (with park and ride facilities) accessed from the A4042. This along with the proposed (and much needed) new station at Caerleon and better Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-7522603526693427422011-10-01T16:05:00.000+01:002011-10-01T16:05:42.175+01:00WATER RESOURCESOn a hot day (in Wales, even in early in October) when thirsty I simply turn the tap and get cool drinkable water to quench my thirst. It is very easy to forget that no everyone on this planet has that simple luxury. The fact that it's warm at the moment is down to weather rather than global warming. However, that said, it's worth noting that with global warming will come drought, which is the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-82769690980596978942011-09-30T16:21:00.000+01:002011-09-30T16:21:49.140+01:00PRIORITIES?In the game of trying to look good, win brownie points and in effort to appear like the Con Dem Government is actually doing something - the UK Westminster government says it will make £250m available to help English councils keep or restore weekly bin collections and is to launch a consultation on increasing the speed limit on England and Wales' motorways from 70mph to 80mph. Obviously its a Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-22609787623089003362011-09-29T18:20:00.002+01:002011-09-29T18:21:40.911+01:00Wangari Muta Maathai
Wangari Muta Maathai (1940–2011)
Wangari Muta Maathai (1940–2011) has died, she was a Nobel Peace Laureate; environmentalist; scientist; parliamentarian; founder of the Green Belt Movement; advocate for social justice, human rights, and democracy; elder; and peacemaker.
She lived and worked in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1971 she received a Ph.D., the first woman in east and central Africa to do so. Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-58185350429700763362011-09-28T20:14:00.000+01:002011-09-28T20:14:59.609+01:00FOR WALES SEE...At the moment Scottish and UK government ministers are busy discussing proposed new financial powers for Scotland. Treasury Minister David Gauke and Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney have been taking part in the first meeting of the joint exchequer committee.
The Committee will look at the financial implications of the Scotland Bill, which is currently going through the Westminster Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-26478154019724789172011-09-27T17:37:00.000+01:002011-09-27T17:37:32.185+01:00EVERY LITTLE HELPS (NOT)As Tesco begins a whole sale roll down of prices, to (they say) benefit consumers some serious concerns are being expressed about the consequences for our farmers and suppliers. Welsh farmers and food suppliers are concerned that the prices they receive for their produce are going to get driven down, as Tesco will make efforts to avoid cutting its profits.
With Tesco dropping some of its pricesJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-31906104314988131342011-09-26T20:29:00.000+01:002011-09-26T20:29:40.154+01:00THE ANTHROPOCENE EPOCH (AND SURVIVING IT)Humans have now reached that point in our (and the planet's) history where we are shaping almost every aspect of the planet, and not always in a good way. We have done this before, but, never on an industrial scale, so we are in wholly new territory - an era that could be called the Anthropocene Epoch. Will Steffen, who is the executive director of the Australian National University (ANU) Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-41403759724162673332011-09-24T11:44:00.001+01:002011-09-24T11:46:26.054+01:00DEVELOPMENT COSTS
The first quarter of the 21st Century may be written up by future Historians as the years when the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) rose to greatness and flexed its muscles on a global if not an imperial scale. Future historians may also note that these were the years when the PRC's influence in sub Saharan Africa grew at an exponential rate. There has been an almost imperial acquisition of Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-89824503793415778332011-09-23T18:08:00.000+01:002011-09-23T18:08:43.644+01:00NOTICED BY THE BEAR...
Hope for a better country, but not as part of the United Kingdom. There is a strong sense of national identity in Wales, which has helped fuel calls for it to achieve independence, following similar calls further north in Scotland.
And yet the debate continues to rage over whether Welsh ambitions are driven by economic sense or pure emotion.
Wales is a part of the UK and a proud nation, with Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-67325902661299918202011-09-22T17:29:00.000+01:002011-09-22T17:29:16.630+01:00WORKING FOR WALES?Planning permission can be a touchy subject, especially when a development (whether for commercial, housing or energy development) is controversial or the final decision is made against the wishes of local people by a fairly distant and indifferent authority. It's pretty obvious that we lack a coherent national strategic development plan for Wales judging by the half-baked way local unitary Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-11863861800958452012011-09-21T21:47:00.000+01:002011-09-21T21:47:36.750+01:00EMPTY PROMISESWhen it comes to one of the old imagined rules of the political game, never to promise what you have no intention of delivering save to try an gain votes, the three main London based parties stand guilty as charged. Particularly when it comes to energy, all three of them pledged to raise the MW threshold for planning control of energy projects in Wales to varying degrees, yet all have done next Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-28152209549076224452011-09-20T17:12:00.000+01:002011-09-20T17:12:23.097+01:00ANYONE LISTENING?The man from Admiral (chief operating officer and executive director, David Stevens) hit the nail on the head when talking to the Welsh Affairs Committee inquiry (last week) on inward investment about attracting and developing start-up businesses in Wales. Wales should chase and help to develop young businesses rather than spend time and money chasing big international firms. Start-up enterprisesJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-12153824650987006982011-09-16T17:27:00.000+01:002011-09-16T17:27:26.008+01:00THE ABERGAVENNY FOOD FESTIVALI have been looking forward to this years Abergavenny Food Festival (being held over this weekend) for a while once again (happily) it has once again not clashed with Plaid's annual conference, good for me, bad for my bank balance and (potentially) bad for my cholesterol. Now well established, the food festival enriches the market town of Abergavenny (and the surrounding area) and adds to Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-62532843881851853512011-09-15T18:34:00.000+01:002011-09-15T18:34:39.172+01:00A CROWN FOR YOUR THOUGHTS?Meanwhile Community Land Scotland, which represents Scotland's community landowners has in submissions to the UK Scottish Affairs Committee and Scottish Scotland Bill Committee, for radical reform of the way the Crown Estate operates in Scotland and for some of its roles should be taken over by community groups. MPs and MSPs are looking into the future of the Crown Estate's functions in Scotland Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-19659280967691750732011-09-14T19:29:00.000+01:002011-09-14T19:29:35.455+01:00A DEPENDENT WALES?There has been some press coverage of Plaid's endorsement of our (Plaid's) desire for Wales to be independent. There have been some well thought out articles on the blog sphere, one from the Plaid Wrecsam blog and one from the Independent Wales blog (the clue is in the name) caught my attention. Now what I have not seen or heard is anyone making the case as to why Wales should be dependent ratherJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-53475194134757634102011-09-13T17:29:00.001+01:002011-09-13T17:30:05.379+01:00A QUESTION OF PRIORITIESThe Westminster government announced on Wednesday (8th September) that they would postpone the elections for Police Commissioners from May to November of 2012, something that will push up the costs of the implementation process by around £25m to a total of £75m. The Westminster Home Affairs Committee was told that the £25m additional cost of staging the elections in November would not come out ofJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-80081586691095536512011-09-11T12:44:00.000+01:002011-09-11T12:44:53.696+01:00REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11THWe are all still far to close to the murderous events of September 11th 20001 to fully assess the long-term consequences that have flowed from the brutal attacks on America that day as a result of the terrorist attacks. Whilst my family lost no one that day, some of my family have seen active service in both Iraq and Afghanistan since, something we could never have envisaged prior to September Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-43158747663239485932011-09-10T12:50:00.002+01:002011-09-10T12:51:28.632+01:00SLEEPWALKING FOR WALES?It should be pretty clear by now that if Plaid does not stand up for Wales then no one will. The new Labour government in Cardiff appears to be more concerned with simply being there than doing anything of value (this could also be said for most Labour run councils as well). Rather quietly Labour have begun to drop those Plaid driven transport infrastructure projects that improved communications Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-61775421035852995562011-09-02T17:54:00.001+01:002011-09-02T17:55:28.252+01:00SAME OLD, SAME OLD...
Some of people may think that it was only a matter of time before the Conservatives reverted to type. So news that an oil firm whose chief executive has bankrolled the Conservatives has won exclusive rights to trade with Libyan rebels during the conflict, after secret talks which involved the British Government should come as no real surprise. Neither should we be surprised that the deal may Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-79302039070852854372011-09-01T12:39:00.001+01:002011-09-01T12:40:14.176+01:00OUR FORGOTTEN HEROESAs a small child I sat for many hours listening to the stories from my great uncle, a naval veteran of the Arctic convoys to Russia and of much else. Some seventy years ago on August 31, 1941, less than two months after Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, the first Allied Arctic Convoy (of the 78) arrived in Arkhangelsk in northern Russia.
From then on until the last convoy arrived at Murmansk onJonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-2542562760278070972011-08-28T17:32:00.000+01:002011-08-28T17:32:00.698+01:00ALL IN IT TOGETHER?
News that George Osborne has done a deal with the Swiss in relation to the secret bank accounts held by UK citizens may not wholly be good news. There has been much speculation as to exactly how much the new levy will bring in and the figure of £5 billion pounds has been bounced about by the Sunday papers.
I am sure that an extra £5 billion would be nice, I mean we have to pay for those Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-79257143871803828012011-08-27T16:20:00.001+01:002011-08-27T16:22:37.404+01:00KNOWING WHEN TO GO?
A potential visitor to the Hague War Crimes Tribunal and friend
There must come a moment in the 'politcal life' of 'a great leader' when they begin to lose the plot and any contact with real people (save for those telling you what you want to hear) becomes increasingly tenuous. Was it always about being the top dog, getting to the top of the greasy pole, getting to sit at the top table? Or Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-14944137979301550062011-08-26T19:46:00.001+01:002011-08-26T19:49:42.134+01:00THE TIME FOR EXCUSES IS PAST...
When it comes to railways in Wales, we tend to focus on anniversaries of rail closures rather than anniversaries of openings. This may well be because transport policy was something that was done to us rather than done for us. I mention this, because I noticed that a plaque has been unveiled marking the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the railway in Knighton (Powys).
The spectaular 22-mile Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-72728515713421716042011-08-23T17:45:00.000+01:002011-08-23T17:45:02.948+01:00CAN WE MAKE IT BETTER?
News that the number of people visiting high streets and shopping centres has fallen more in Wales than any other part of the UK sadly comes as no surprise. On my way to work in my home town of Newport, I walk past far too many empty or closed but partially furnished shops every day. The British Retail Consortium has revealed that footfall in Welsh towns and cities has dropped by 9.2% between Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-48352276082376123922011-08-21T14:40:00.001+01:002011-08-21T14:41:36.220+01:00POOR WEST BRITONS?
I was wondering the other day whether or not there is a plan for Wales or no doubt West Britain as its called in the darkest reaches of Whitehall. I wonder this because we have two tier planning system within Wales, by this I mean local (county borough) level and UK national level. Planned large scale housing developments in the north east are designed to deal with housing shortages in Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-86057464032076416312011-08-19T12:46:00.001+01:002011-08-19T12:47:03.473+01:00ANNIVERSARIES...Yet another anniversary, this time the twentieth anniversary of the failed Soviet Coup attempt which brought about the final demise of the Soviet Union. At the time I watched most of it live on TV in my office in South London with my colleagues, the defining moment was, at least from where I was sat was the moment when Boris Yeltsin walked boldly out of the White House, and climbed up onto the Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-57730738401390944912011-08-18T17:24:00.001+01:002011-08-18T17:25:42.036+01:00REMEMBERING THE WALL
Last Saturday (13th August) was the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall,it passed, outside of Germany, largely unnoticed. Berlin City resident and German political leaders marked the vent with a memorial service and a minute of silence in honour of those who died trying to escape across the wall into the West. After the reunification of Germany, pretty understandably most of Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7550639031325023970.post-60976758410596289462011-08-17T19:35:00.001+01:002011-08-17T19:36:40.602+01:00TAKING ON THE ELITE?
Anna Hazare
Taking a stand against a corrupt self serving elite who run the country to suit their own ends and to help line their pockets in the process requires courage and determination. In Ireland, India and elsewhere there are people who are ready to stand up and be counted regardless of the personal cost..
In India, one of those people is Anna Hazare, a 74 year old man, who leading Jonathan T Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12521744296738307343noreply@blogger.com0