It’s the territory that’s amazing, Jac. Our country. Rhondda does not need tips from the coffee shops of Islington, nor the supplements in the Guardian. It’s the hard lessons of our history that should be referred to in order to recognise false flags or agent provocateurs who descend to Wales with dubious narratives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I24fSktQKEs%5Bremovetoplay%5D
Many versions of this.

If Leanne Wood wishes to stride the path of socialism in our quest for independence, that’s fine, but are not the gift horse of others. Also, don’t try bypass the sospans with a forked tongue. I’m sure both James Connolly and Arthur Horner would have agreed this on the barricades in Dublin in 1916.

Brychan, you never fail to amaze me. And to educate us all.

It is of no surprise that Antifa are now attacking offices of the Democrat Party in the United States. It’s happened before when the Antifaschistische Aktion, a front organisation of the Communist Party of Germany decided that the Nazis, although a fascist party were not the real enemy, but the real enemy was global, also in the German sense Jewish, international capitalism.

In 1931 Antifaschistische Aktion united with the Nazis in the Prussian Landtag referendum, an attempt to dissolve the Prussian Parliament. It failed. The Prussian parliament, a devolved administration, was the last part of Germany to remain democratic.

This was where the joint black and red flag emblem was invented. It can still be seen today in Antifa iconography.

Perhaps people like Leanne Wood MS should spend less time trying to be right on cool and seek out first hand reports of these historical events of this time by examining the archives that used to be housed in the Maerdy Workingmen’s Hall, which I believe are now held in the National Library in Aberystwyth.

Of note is the objection to support for Antifaschistische Aktion by the South Wales Miners Federation and a tactical split in Wales from the Communist Party of Great Britain. As a result, Arthur Horner travelled to Moscow in 1931 to appeal against his expulsion from the Comintern. They, at the time, were supporting the Communist Party of Germany in alliance with the Nazis with the view to overthrow capitalism.

Hope Leanne enjoys her weekly lockdown walk and takes time to think things through.

If she looks down on Cwmparc she will see the tailings of the Dare colliery. It’s where the colliers remained underground to prevent an alternative union being formed in 1935. That scab union also featured the black and red flag. It was when it first appeared in Wales. I need no Twitter to make this comment, just a few scars from the Gellideg and Garw black stuff.

Yes; in a nutshell, more the merrier, whatever their personal reasons, and nobody should be given any platform to hijack the issue for their own agenda(s). Statehood first, then we get down to that kind of nitty gritty. I’ve raised the point on other fora that from my perspective, if I could pin down the biggest weakness of the Scottish movement it’d be its lack of conservative voices (at least as far as I’m aware anyway).

You can measure a Welsh police force by how they deal with drug addiction as well as how the county lines supply chain can operate.

NWP – Refer to third sector who provide clean syringes to escalate addition.
DPP – Confiscate the possession and issue a fine.
Gwent – Bash down some doors to find more stash.
SWP – Refer to third sector for a flat on the mountain or hostel if Cardiff.

It depends on how the PCC interprets targets and weekly policy initiatives sent down from the Home Office in London. It’s also where the supply chain is managed, as well as where many of the pushers and addicts originate. NHS Wales picks up the damage as does the host communities.

Where front line officers act in an unwarranted high handed manner it is appropriate to take issue. Some of these people get a bit carried away especially when they get the nod from above. You make a fair point in picking out the politics of the PCC known locally as a man who like to flex his minimal muscles when there is scope for a touch of political showboating. Shame he can’t address old fashioned crime with the same vigour. SWP is rapidly getting a reputation for never being around when needed, but serve up an alleged hate crime or a spot of Covid rule breaching and boy the response is ultra shit hot. Anything to do with being driven by statistics ?

Those tick boxes are drawn by our lords and masters in London. You will also notice a difference in stop and question policy over the last nine months between GogPlod or DPP as opposed to SWP. This is due to the politics of police commissioner. I expect foul play of senior ranks of SWP is more likely on the Tawe at Clydach than at Penrhiwceiber or Pontcanna on the Taf. Now there’s a case to get your teeth into.

Don’t bash front line officers.

Recently, in an unrelated event, I spent time doing CPR on a casualty and needed home office police to prevent drugged bystanders from frustrating my efforts. When asked by the paramedic on the 999 call if the patient had blue lips, I said no. The casualty was black. Perhaps some members of the Senedd should offer support and stop posturing, especially those who claim to want ministerial powers over policing and justice.

Yes. She wrote it. Elizabeth Cotton was originally a chapel singer in Carrboro, North Carolina. The chapels, both Bethel and Calfaria (opposite sides of the street), were established as an offshoot of the devotees of the Pencader Hundred. You may hear the Welsh hymn melodies in her music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgQEOkuCRZ0{removetoplay}
From 3:35

Perhaps Adam Price might have understood some of his own cultural history when he spent time in the US rather than making crass assumptions based on the colour of someone’s skin. I wonder after our independence we could get Cerys Mathews together with Huw Edwards and explore this rich and diverse vein of our history. Too Welsh for the BBC?

Brychan, there is an issue with the general conduct of various SWP officers of all ranks. I accept that the message coming down from the top is somewhat garbled but, and it’s a big but, there is something quite unsavoury about the enthusiasm of front line officers for the task of stopping vehicles and issuing fines. Some months ago NO serving member of same SWP force could be got off his/her fat arse to pursue a criminal whose identity was already confirmed by film evidence presented by a victim. Had that victim elected to dish out a spot of his own “justice” – a dose of brick rashing or similar – you can rest assured that SWP would have pursued that matter to the extreme. They just don’t get it – crime has to be tackled swiftly not by spending hours checking whether the alleged perps or the victims ticked so many boxes on some entitlement matrix.