Fight the Fog Quiz
I'm not around today but don't want you to 'leave with nothing' ... as someone who's not known for her love of Wales likes to say.
So: try this for size. I'll post the answer - and reason for bothering to ask the question - later.
What do these ten things have in common?
*Repealing the hunting ban in Wales
*Imposing new rules on laboratories which test on animals
*Bringing in stronger protection for consumers
*Minimum standards for hearing aid providers
*Stronger licensing of public sector vehicle operators
*More stringent limits on lorry drivers hours
*Minimum pricing for alcohol
*Tougher anti social behaviour orders
*Higher safety standards for ships and boats using Welsh ports
Have a go.
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~34~RS~)
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They all start with a *?
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Interesting that Betsan should take this opportunity to remind contributors of the exceptions to the Government of Wales Act 2006. Do we assume the BBC is starting its "Yes" campaign for the future referendum ?
Having witnessed the Welsh Assembly Government these last years it is time to make sure the exceptions are kept away from the sticky fingers of the poor achievers.
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They're exceptions to the powers of WAG under the 2006 Act. I can't believe I know that, but I do.
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Re 2
Are you even starting a whispering campaign against Betsan now? How many conspiracies can people dream up and live with?
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What a bizarre set of restrictions. Once again it shows how much better the Scottish model is, with all devolved other than some reserved areas, rather than this list of what is permitted and then exceptions from the permitted list!
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These are all things the Assembly would not be able to do in Acts of the Assembly after a yes vote in a referendum. Well, that is if the current Schedule 7 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (which sets out what the Assembly would be able to do in Acts)remains unamended. Section 109 of the 2006 Act makes provision for that Scedule to be amended by Order in Council, if approved by the Assembly and Parliament.
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3. Now I know where you get your bizarre and biased slight on welsh politics. Your not another figment of Returnees many personalities?
FiFo Dafydd? Penddu? no you could well be the alter ego of Lyn Thomas
the 'Voice of Plaid'.Your one of the reasons why I confine myself to the
biased Cardiff blurb on the back pages.
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Shock Horror
Did you see the news on Scottish independence?
Some people were heard to say that they wanted a vote irrespective of the outcome.
How come they can do that and we can't, why can't we have a vote if a No vote is going to win, and how did they get that passed BBC Scotland?
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.... More stringent limits on lorry drivers hours
Without a border with effective border controls how could this be applied, would it apply to drivers who live in Wales or to drivers that drive for companies who are based in Wales; could drivers who live in England yet drive for Welsh companies be given "get out of gaol free" cards, if haulage companies based in France employ drivers from Aberdare who in turn park the trucks in Wales would new rules apply.
What an if, if Westminster has any sense it should remove this exception as soon as possible, it would tie up the inmates at Cardiff Bay for years, Plaid and chums might explore the possibilities for the creation of a decentralised transport infrastructure based on a Soviet 10 year plan, the possibilities for political stupidity are enormous.
I'm surprised that Peter Hain and friends haven't thought of this, if nothing else it might keep the inmates quiet, letting the rest of us get on with life ........
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Stonemason, tell me what you would do with the roads, as you oppose all government expenditure other than for the police, courts and the military, how would you pay for the roads? All privatised with tolls?
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I have the answer!
The ten things above are all open to public scrutiny and debate while everything else is going to be subject to censorship and spin doctoring in order to create the conditions for securing a Yes vote.
Moreover, anyone blowing the whistle about public services and Quango's needs to be aware that they are likely to be the subject of a dirty tricks campaign of the David Kelly variety!
I speak from very recent experience but cannot spell it out to get past the moderator, however, a complaint has been made to the Public Services Ombudsman.
It would be an a gross exaggeration to say that living in the constitutional black hole that is Welsh devolution is like being behind the Iron Curtain when people smuggled messages out to the west to let people know what life is really like.
I would never suggest such a thing, but it does give a flavour of what we are up against!
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I'm not sure where that come from, where Lyn_Thomas at #10 wrote ......
..... tell me what you would do with the roads, as you oppose all government expenditure other than for the police, courts and the military, how would you pay for the roads? All privatised with tolls?
What I support is small government, where local authorities take responsibility for local events/issues and central government organise responsibility for UK National events/issues such as motorways, as "fi-fo" writes ... simple.
..... and while the little people were asleep .....
New tougher anti social behaviour orders were introduced by the republican separatist coalition in Wales, from 1st January 2010 local police officers will be able to issue an ASBO that include up to 20 strokes of the cane administered locally, there is no appeal.
The local Plaid spokesperson said "it's what the people want", Borthas was heard to mutter "I must get on the list of punisher's" and the local labour candidate whispered "and to think we asked them to join us in government". It is understood that Conservatives and Liberal Democrats abstained during the vote.
A full account can be read in "Alice visits the Assembly" by Ieuan (the book) Jones.
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You know exactly where it came from Stonemason, the declaration on your blog, now removed, that ideally government should be confined to the police, the armed forces and the courts.
Now in your fantasy on ASBOs, perhaps you should read on what we have actually said, highly sceptical on ASBOs and implacably opposed to capital or corporal punishment.
Perhaps you would like to take your (increasingly) pathetic smears elsewhere, or are we to take all your posts as satire?
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I have answered your first paragraph elsewhere, several times ......
I find it difficult to get past Plaids stated intention of destroying the United Kingdom, fortunately in the UK we have freedom of expression, a gift that the separatist would take away from the little people ....
With regard to your last paragraph, my comments you can take them whichever way you wish, your politics are diminishing as each week goes by, the more we write the dimmer the separatists get, the more ridiculous the sunders are perceived ............. much like the Cheshire cat with Alice ..... it becomes transparent as time goes on ....
The dreadful thing is there is much to do in Wales with your politics placing obstructions every way the Unionist politicians turn ...........
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Celtic Extremeism not Welsh Nationalism
The more I look into the issues of Welsh language and the large number of Welsh people who are against having any form of assembly for the same reason as the people of North East England. We need to stop thinking in terms of Welsh nationalism that makes the native born non Welsh speakers second class citizens in their own country. But of Celtic extremism which would be a far better description and put things into context.
Like the people of Scotland we need a VOTE not a contrived referendum whereby the failure of public cservices is concealed from the public in order to secure a yes vote.
Concealing loans to banks is one thing, concealing the failure of the way in which we are governed is dangerous. They cannot be trusted, but Plaid/Llafur will collude with Westminster on these issue when it suits them and then slag them off to gain political adavantage.
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No Stonemason you have ignored that question every time and given non answers.
The UK is a political institution that has had its time, better to move on and accept that it is becoming an irrelevance within the growing European Union and the demand for more local based decision making.
Once again you make claims that Plaid is dictatorial - stating that it would remove freedom of expression, where is your evidence for this? Like other non democrats you assume that the more you repeat a lie the more people will believe it. Again produce proof. If Plaid was such an anti democratic force why have all the parties in the National Assembly been happy to negotiate a coalition deal with it.
You are right, there is much to do in Wales and the unionists have been obstructing it for years.... witness Hain's rejection of any reasoned funding formula. Witness the no payment of full match funding for Objective 1 from the EU.
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