Blue-Eyed Hag

[Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias]

Trump now alienating even fellow right-wing politicians in Europe, but at least we have some great new friends in Teheran.

[Will Hayward @WillHayCardiff]

Senedd Members walk out of the Welsh Parliament in protest at comments made by a Reform MS.

Joe Martin MS “jokes” about Welsh kids not being able to read.

In the wider clips that we will share in the newsletter you can see some of his fellow Reform MSs laughing along while others are clearly uncomfortable.

Wales has some deep rooted problems that require seriousness, nuance and real political leadership to fix. Proper opposition is vital.

What we don’t need is the smugly delivered political equivalent to the worst best man speech you’ve ever read seen.

[Amanda Craig @AmandaPCraig]

Somebody @BBC please read this. https://t.co/tVjq2SwUm2

[Ben Sixsmith @BDSixsmith]

I cautioned against (as I saw it) rushing to judgement on this case, so I don't say this jeeringly, but people who dismissed it outright as misinformation should interrogate their biases. That we shouldn't draw final conclusions from viral videos applies as much to sceptics as it does to believers.
https://t.co/W8LYIctbVj

[Blue-Eyed Hag @CarnMenyn]

@HuwL1oyd @thebarryhorns Which podcast was that? Did Dan do Desolation Radio?

[Blue-Eyed Hag @CarnMenyn]

@paulieboy1 @simonmontefiore Even more fascinating how TRA and Hamas are in alignment.

[Blue-Eyed Hag @CarnMenyn]

@bollerrrr @GEvans7777 @Pibydd “spoke twelve fluent languages”?? What does that even mean? It’s not English. It’s a little-known fact that Enoch Powell spoke excellent modern Welsh and was a scholar of medieval Welsh https://t.co/5v49vOru9M

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

This is cool.

Every kid in a British school should learn one of Welsh, Gaelige, Scottish Gaelic and old English. Even if just for a term (I’d favour longer).

Learn about the deep roots of these islands!

[Oliver Kamm @OliverKamm]

Not a political point at all: this is really admirable.

[Sian Parry 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @Sian_Parry]

@Cai_ParryJones There will come a day Cai where every single UJ flag will be torn from every single building in Wales, and that day will be here a lot sooner than you think! ✊🏼🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[Martina Navratilova @Martina]

This is just absurd!!!
What’s next for males- ovarian cysts??? Getting their tubes tied???
Seriously Australia?

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

La Vérité

[Blue-Eyed Hag @CarnMenyn]

@OliverKamm @amazingmap They were infiltrated by Anglo-Normans during the Middle Ages

[Aris Roussinos @arisroussinos]

Wales’ success in keeping Welsh alive is genuinely impressive and worth emulating

[The Warrior Badger @warriorbadger]

It's welcome, but not an indication of modern action - rather, it's historical.

The Welsh princes were defeated in their wars of independence against the tyrannical filth that was Edward I.

Gradual assimilation into the English realm, and the influence of the Tudor Royal House centuries later ensured, for example, that the bible was published in Welsh. A hugely significant benefit for the survival of the language. Wales didn't pose a 'threat' to the English realm.

The language was therefore folded in to society, even though that society had no independent Welsh monarch or nation.

However, arguably the language IS under threat from the English in the 21st century. I don't mean to sound gammony - it's simple data. A gamed housing market and other factors have seen the Welsh language border pivot massively in the last 60-years.

Welsh is generally despised by incomers from England - be it retirees moving to Anglesey, or Reform voting, pro-Brexit boltholers looking for cheap Welsh farmhouses that are out of the reach of most young Welsh families.

How many of us have dropped onto YouTube channels were a young English couple 'can't believe' they managed to snap up an 'old Welsh farmhouse' and 20-acres for *just* £400,000?

Look to the comments. The point always comes up. The response from the couple?

'Welsh people could have bought the farmhouse too...'

It's tiresome. No one is interested in racist horseshit. This is about democracy. Many Irish counties have properly decent protective measures were people can buy property, from abroad - but can never 'own' the land.

Until Wales (and Scotland) have such measures, the land will continue to be gobbled up by wealthier people from England, and the culture will suffer accordingly.

[Blue-Eyed Hag @CarnMenyn]

@dai_alectic @WelshLabour @prospect_uk Good analysis. I would complicate the picture slightly. While the Plaid vote in the metropolis is largely ‘progressive’, there are strongly socially conservative elements within the more rural Plaid vote of the north west. This will make Rhun’s balancing act even more delicate

[Ifan Morgan Jones @ifanmj]

Political speech in English: Hard working families. Let me be clear. Reaching across the aisle.

Political speech in Welsh: Allow me to quote an inter-war pacifist poet from Pembrokeshire... who my entire audience will be familiar with...

[Sonia Sodha @soniasodha]

This inconsistent position shows what a joke of an organisation the BMA is. We accept there is no evidence to support the prescription of puberty blockers and they come at risk of harm, but we should be able to do so anyway because "doctor autonomy" 🤡

[Hannah Barnes @hannahsbee]

🧵In July 2024 I broke news that the BMA was planning to vote on a motion to "disavow" the Cass Review & work with others to oppose implementation of its recommendations. Nearly two years' later, the union has officially dropped its opposition, after conducting its own review.

[Blue-Eyed Hag @CarnMenyn]

@gera1nt @SchwettyBalczak @Denyse_558 Zoran Mamdani?