Its an honour for those Swans players and loan player to play fror the GB team and I will be shouting for them all the way and for all British athletes. What do you want Mabon, us out of the Premier league and into some sort of a Welsh league run by the joke that is the FAW? Let them go ahead and ban the Swans players, I'd rather them out of the clutches of the FAW, they have never been friends of SCFC. I'd rather the Swans be under the English FA than with the joke that is the FAW.
What i find concerning with this issue is there appears to be a lack of understanding by my fellow jacks about the issues surrounding Team GB, firstly this has nothing to do with swansea city, it has nothing to do with the fact the olympics are being held in england, it has nothing to do with whether you feel british or not, and for those that think that it has nothing to do with Wales,Scotland or N Ireland are i am afraid showing a total lack of whats at stake here, this team is being put together and is in effect the English under 23 team, there is no recognition from the celtic football associations on this island for good reason, and that is the risk it poses to the independent status of each football nation. ask yourself this question would the government give a **** if these olympics were being held in china would they ****, well the risk is the same whatever country the olympics is being held in when team gb put a football team. there are some think that they would never force the celtic associations to join the english in a great britain football association, the english would never allow it, well there are very few countries within FIFA who give a toss about the english fa, maybe the world cup 2018 vote would have told you that , What i find more concerning is the fact that a lot of my fellow swans are quite happy to put our national side at risk for a few spots in an england under 23 side, who if england had not been in the euros would not have got anywhere near the side.
The Olympics are held in London , it can only be in one city in a country, are you seriously thinking that any other city in the UK have the capabilities and infrastructure to hold an event as big as this ? There are events in other parts of the UK including Wales. The Olympics is a huge event that you dislike, that is up to you, but a lot of people disagree with you. And it appears you don't know what it means to people in this country, it brings people together in a good way. I am going and have tickets. I also went Athens in 2004 and Barcelona in 1992, its the greatest sporting event in the world, even better than the world cup in some ways. And by the way I went to Italy in 1990 and saw a few games. There is enough crap in the world, just watch the news or read the papers for that, this is about enjoyment in life and should be celebrated. For those who think its a waste of money, that is idiotic as life is for living and we need fun in life as much as hospitals. And the ones who are football fans should look at themselves and the clubs that they support to see how hypocritical that is.
The fact you are finding a negative in everything associated with the olympics and Britain in general. Basically I could ask what the **** you are on about, your everyone is trying to get us attitude is absurd mate. Think you need that lie down!
I agree with Trundle's Left Foot. I'll say this, I hope our players are insured and someone else is covering their wages. International football is fine, it's traditional and generates enough interest to bring revenue to the game.... But for 3 of our players to miss pre-season, when we have a new manager and coaching staff, jeopardising our chances of establishing Swansea City in the Premier League....for the chance to play with Ryan Giggs in some meaningless fixtures in a competition nobody cares about for a temporary team nobody cares about? Seems like lunacy too me. Hope we don't come to regret their involvement.
Terror the same could be said for Wales friendlies, a complete waste of time that nobody really cares about and half the players don't even turn up. So a massive lack of respect for the manager of Wales, and the FAW, but then who gives a toss about them! In regards to insurance, of course they are covered otherwise they wouldn't be able to play. The pay will not be covered by the Olympics it's an amateur competition so probably food and hotel is paid for by TeamGB and that is it, the same for when they play internationals though I think they get a small appearance figure. One thing though, it's a massive compliment to represent our country, whether Wales or UK, being in such a team raises the profile of the player, and raises the price for such a player as international players will always be worth more than an equivalent player who hasn't represented a country.
Also, re: Independance I believe it is not a sufficient argument to say, "our economy couldn't sustain it therefore we should stick where we are". The questions are; Why is our economy still so terrible? Why do we have to keep going back for more Objective 1 funding from Europe with no noticeable improvement in our fortunes each time? This is shameful. If those who governed Wales came up with the policies and took the difficult decisions to transform our economy (taking funding away from Social Welfare and diverting it into education with co-ordinated policies to bring about a vision for the future that contained a sustainable economy for example) one day, several decades away, Wales might be able to sustain itself. By the way, Ireland was going great guns and demonstrably kicking our arses....it was corruption between the banking sector and the construction sector (and lack of sufficient political oversight) that has brought them to their knees. British banks had a big part to play in this. They were kicking our arses because they were independent, setting competitive tax rates to multi nationals, and had a highly educated workforce specialising in high tech industries.....this is why they have performed better than their fellow P.I.I.G.S. over the last few years. It is Welsh Labour who want their cake and eat it. As laid out by Nick Clegg recently when he publically chastised that idiot Carwyn Jones.
The problem with that terror is that ireland became independent well before all the economies were tied into together worldwide. Just look at eastern europe when communism collapsed, that was late 80s early 90s the economies are still knackered after all that time. Wales is not a position to govern ourselves look at the seneth they are a joke! Our independence would mean a lot of change in Swansea in particular as we have a lot of public sector employment here. That would go as we service mostly England who would be a different country. The problem is a party like plaid have no policies beyond let's break away from England they are shortsighted.
Agree with everything you've posted on this page valley. To answer "Why is our economy still so terrible?" the answer I believe is the fact that modern Wales was built on a bed on industry which sadly doesn't exist any more and we're still recovering from that. The U.K doesn't actually make anything much these days either and that's hurt Wales disproportionately. There are very few countries in the world that have small populations like ours that are successful and base their wealth on manufacturing. It's mostly business and financial services. If Wales is going to compete we need to expand those sectors, along with that of new technologies to make our own silicon valley. Imo that's the way to go and the Welsh Government should be investing in that. In this way, the fact that we have cheaper housing and a lower cost of living could actually work for us, not against. I know Carwyn as I used to share a room with him at work. Think I'll have a word.
My first post on this and it will probably be my last Perhaps you could explain how the olympics are amateur? My understanding of the meaning of the word is that it is someone in pursuit of something without pay. Now that excludes practically everyone who participates in these olympics. As for the cost of being the "host" country, was it double the original cost, or treble? However much it is costing for this "once in a lifetime experience", not my words by the way, it is far to great a price to pay. Grumpy attitude, probably. I hope the rest of the people enjoy the millionaire "amateurs" parading their wares in a few short weeks time, while sharing in the corporate sponsors delight.
Grumpy attitude, probably. I hope the rest of the people enjoy the millionaire "amateurs" parading their wares in a few short weeks time, while sharing in the corporate sponsors delight. much the same as we working class paying to watch millionaire's kick a football...Its sport and if you enjoy it then watch it and if you dont then dont, ....but whatever you decide we will all pay something towards the olympics to some degree and thats the way it is.....enjoy it as you will be paying for it anyway....
Importance of Social Organisation "Lester Thurow argues that 'the mechanics of development are straightforward. The problem is execution. Execution requires social organisation, and that is precisely what most 3rd world countries lack.' There is plenty of anecdotal evidence on this and one is provided here: Sierra Leone and Singapore are both former British colonies that gained independence in the 1960s. At independence both had small populations of less than 4 million and a similar level of per capita income. While Sierra Leone was rich in mineral, fishery and agricultural resources, Singapore was resource-poor and dependent on entrepôt trade. The paths these 2 countries have taken since independence could not be more different. After nearly 40 years of being plagued by civil war and corruption, Sierra Leone's per capita GDP by purchasing power parity was only $500 in 2002, compared to Singapore's $24,000. Countries that cannot get themselves organised (provide a stable political environment, establish and enforce legal frameworks, set up schools, build basic infrastructure etc.) are simply not able to participate in economic development. A country that wants to grow rich needs to be organised to provide a conducive environment for business. Only when businesses thrive will wealth be realised. The author goes on to discuss the success of Finland and Ireland. It's all just opinions of course, but my opinion is that it is time to stop making excuses and start taking responsibility.
Finland (population: 5.2 million) Like it's Nordic neighbours, Finland has continued to benefit from the Wealth redistribution system that keeps unemployment low and living standards high. It's also one of only 2 countries (along with Luxembourg) in the euro zone that have kept within the currency's strict limits on budget deficits. The country also ranks highly on education, research and development spending, and several high-tech industries. The most notable high tech company is Nokia, by far and away Finland's largest accounting for 3% of GDP and a quarter of it's exports.
Industry died in Wales 30 years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on already? Tell Carwyn his government's record on education is abysmal.
Terror you are talking about a time when the world economies were not as integrated as they are now, and the populations of these countries ( ireland & Finland ) are x2-x3 of ours. They have always been independent countries in the modern era, meaning their infrastructure is not reliant on anyone else. Without England and to a lessor extent the other Celtic nations we'd be knackered. We have no standing army, no money, no recognition in the UN, no government, no competent leaders, and no real will to break away. What will happen in the future who knows, but rest assured none of here now will be alive to see an independent Wales, and I'm thankful for it.
I am not arguing for Independence tomorrow Valley, I am saying that it is desirable in the long term, if we could ever get our **** together. Also pointing out the Catch 22 that it is unlikely we'll ever get our **** together without the need to...which only Independence can bring about. The situation at the moment is unpleasant, we need to start pulling our weight within the UK. Mabon is on the button when he states that England are the ones who will break the UK apart. Devolving some power to Wales was an attempt to force us Welsh to take responsibility. It's not working. In terms of our governance we equate to a 1 party state (if we were a state). That's not healthy. We need to prepare for the future.
But cutting through it all terror, is that taxes and the cost living will rise much higher than now, you go to the scanadavian countries and you will the cost of living is higher as well the taxes. They earn more yes, but remember this is Wales where more people are on the minimum wage percentage wise than any other part of the UK. If people want independence they have to pay for it! Myself I want no part of it, it's a pipe dream that the myopic plaid rolls out when they want votes, now tell me how many seats did they lose in the last elections ? Party of Wales ? Like hell I think even the lib dems have a higher vote than them here ! As I said they pander to the welsh speakers and everyone is considered almost irrelevant, and mate I do speak welsh as does my family.
But Valley, that's what I'm saying. Welsh business has to grow, people have to earn more and pay more taxes before we can be independent. The problem is that the Welsh Labour party aren't getting any progress on this. They either have to be voted out for being incompetent or, if this isn't going to happen and we are to believe the excuses that it's all the UK government's fault, we need to be independent so the "evil Tories" can't meddle. I suspect the Welsh Labour party are happy with the status quo (the half-way house option) as they get to play at being leaders and nobody asks too many awkward questions about how we have squandered so much European funding with such **** results and Carwyn and co can snipe at the UK government whilst complaining that they need more money off them. The irony is that if we continue to suck up other people's money without co-operating with their ideas for solutions, England will try to force us out anyway (think Greece). They're already talking about regional pay and benefits. The English are not so sure about Scottish independence because economically they are much more successful, which is precisely why they are able to contemplate independence in the first place! Either way we have to improve our economic performance, and either way independence is looking increasingly likely in the long term. Whether this is desirable or not is down to personal opinion.
