www.neathferret.co.uk Neath's Private Eye Looking for Community Problems Special Political Edition Weekending 21st March 2009 Version 16
We've been highlighted on the BNP website! Neath Ferret v BNP 
We never wanted to go down a national route - nor do we want to in future. But when the BNP makes a comment about our website we feel we should say something about it. "It's national recognition for The Neath Ferret at last!" said someone, whose own name has been in the press quite a lot lately - but it is not recognition on this subject that we wantPerhaps the author of the website in question does not expect us to print the comments in full, but that is exactly what we are going to do. But to balance this we are going print letters on our front page that our readers have sent in - plus links to web sites (including the BNP) that say something about the BNP in order that readers can judge for themselves. Perhaps some think throwing mud is fun - as apparently the BNP do. We rather think that the report you are about to see is more damaging to the BNP image than they realise, and anyone who may be starting to lean their way may now have second thoughts - at least, we hope that this applies to those who really know what our website really stands for. Referring to our YOUTUBE video ( which has had over 5,000 hits - version 14) on Peter Hain MP v BNP - this is what the BNP item says:- "What a bloody hoot. A rag that tries to portray itself as existing to expose injustice and right wrongs objecting to Peter Hain being questioned about where £103,000 of money, most of it from hard working union members subscriptions went. Neath Ferret my ass. If they had any courage they would have been asking the question themselves. Anyhow check the site out and it will soon be revealed that the Neath Ferret is nothing but a kiss ass site and safety valve supporting the establishment. They have a comments page so leave them a note, although despite their claims to be open, they do edit them to suit." Our Comment.... To the BNP we have to say that if we were a "kiss ass site supporting the establishment" we would not have drawn attention to the BNP at all. At least we have brought the matter to people's attention to let them form their own opinion - as we do again by printing this letter from our reader's page:- BNP Nazis The BNP is an organisation of violent racists and fascists. It was founded in the early 1980s out of the remains of the equally racist National Front. Its founding leader, the late John Tyndall, was a well known nazi who delighted in parading around the place dressed in full nazi uniform.He had a long string of criminal convictions to his name including belonging to a paramilitary organisation and acts of violence. His successor Nick Griffin is also a convicted criminal and a well known denier of the nazi Holocaust which killed millions in Europe. His party is anti semitic ,violent and racist to the core.Its National Development Officer Tony Lecomber has convictions for seriously assaulting a teacher who was removing racist graffitti from the wall of a London Underground tube and also a conviction for conspiracy to make nail bombs. Then there was BNP member David Copeland who killed three and maimed over a hundred when he nail bombed his way across London in 1997 trying to start a race war. Neath Ferret readers who would like to find out more about this unsavoury organisation should read Searchlight magazine which is online or the Unite Against Fascism website. To see John Tyndall, the founding BNP leader in full nazi regalia, try "google images." The BNP leaders admire Hitler greatly and indeed set up an outfit called Combat 18 which is named in Hitler's honour.When they show off on video the phrase "brutes in suits springs to mind". Posted on 11 February 2009. And another letter posted prior to the above:- BNP v Hain's expenses Surely the BNP, along with every other concerned taxpayer, had every right to ask the "right honourable gentleman" where the money went?. In fact as far as I can see, the BNP appear to be the only political party prepared to address very awkward but important questions to what is happenning in our country, perhaps this is why they are so villified by the other parties?. And having watched the video, all I can say is that it wasnt the BNP that misbehaved was it? Posted on 7 February 2009 This is what Peter Hain said on his website about the BNP:- "It comes as no surprise that the BNP are attacking me – they and their fascist ilk have done so since I laws a leader of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and when I founded the Anti-Nazi League which led to the collapse of their predecessor the National Front in the early 1980s. They have always been vitriolic and vicious towards me and this latest vendetta is totally predictable. We will not be deflected from confronting them and driving them out of Neath." If anyone wants to write to Peter Hain --- Click here The following links will allow readers to form their own opinions:- BNP - the site with the comments BNP - British Nationist Party website Searchlight Magazine - Anti BNP Peter Hain's website - for further information Ask Peter Hain a question Peter Hain fears BNP victory - BBC News report Having printed balanced views, with links to all the relevant sites, nothing much more can be said, except, perhaps, print some sort of apology from the BNP - if we get it. We wonder if they are too proud to admit that we are not the sort of website that they claim. If they don't apologise and can't see the wood for trees then, to use their expression, they can kiss our ass.
Labour's Hidden Agenda Destroy Plaid Cymru From recent press reports, and from residents who have spoken to certain Labour Councillors, there appears to be a move to discredit and destroy Plaid Cymru. However, the more they attempt to do this the more they show themselves up for what they really are. We refer, in particular, to a letter sent to the Evening Post by Leighton Veale in which he tries to bring Plaid Cymru Councillors into disrepute. We cannot help wondering how he can make the statements he did as a local resident when it is alleged that he has a flat above the Labour headquarters in Cardiff. The taxpayers of Merton Borough of London complained about him taking £8,000 of their money when he could do the job as their elected Labour Councillor by email and telephone from his Cardiff home. We wonder how he got elected there in the first place? As a member of the Welsh Labour Party, a prospective Member of the European Parliament, a candidate in the last Welsh Assembly election and also having stood in Brecon & Radnor at the last parliamentary election in an attempt to gain an MP’s seat, you would have thought Councillor Veale would be a busy man. Having said this, it seems he has time to be an aide to Labour MP David Cairns of Inverclyde at Westminster and for a main post employed as the public affairs officer for the Stroke Association in Cardiff. It appear to be a case of: "Never has one had their fingers in so many pies." Surely this is an example of what is strangling our political and public services system? Comments on the past history of Plaid Cymru Councillors from a person with these qualifications is rather hard to swallow. It should be remembered that Community Councillors, unlike Mr Veale, are paid nothing for their efforts - not even their expenses! Dirty Tricks? A disturbing allegation Certain Plaid Cymru members of the Labour controlled Neath-Port Talbot County Council fear that they are having their emails monitored by those who have the facilities to do. This amounts to spying on the correspondence that they are dealing with. There have been cases of printed emails landing on desks of officials to whom they are not intended. One counciller said that be was sure his telephone was being tapped. We looked into this matter and confirmed that it is possible for councillors linked to the Neath- Port Talbot network server to have their emails looked at by third parties. In other words an email with an address such as: a.councillor@npt.gov.uk is one that can hacked into quite easily. We addressed this matter to an IT Officer of a neighbouring council authority and he confirmed that such things do take place. He went on to say that all emails are vetted and that if you wrote the word 'bomb' a couple of times in an email you will have somebody knocking on your door the following morning. Telephone calls, particularly from mobile phones, are not so secure ae some people think. We are now living in a world where big brother is watching you. It can be argued that if you do no wrong then you have nothing to worry about - but it makes many feel uncomfortable. COMMUNITY SPIRIT That is the name of Neath-Port Talbot's community free newspaper that claims: 'Working together for a better life in Neath Port Talbot.' In fairness we must applaud the efforts of the editor and his team as the publication does not seem, at first sight, to be politically biased. More community spirit would certainly make our country a better place to live in. Incidentally, half of the 24 pages are printed (with the same content) in the Welsh language - the subject of our next item. Plaid Cymru is not green What a waste of paper! Tons of paper are now being wasted every year because almost everything is being is being duplicated here in Wales. Council publications and forms are printed in both English and Welsh - even in non-Welsh speaking towns like Neath & Port Talbot. Further thought should be given to this to benefit the environment and to stop this appalling waste of paper and taxpayers money. It can also be revealed that it is very annoying to residents when streets are given Welsh names in English speaking towns. Home owners find it very irritating having to continually spell out their address when on the telephone or in shops when asking for goods to be delivered. Let's keep the Welsh language alive in Welsh speaking towns where often it is the first language - the language of birth - but lets be sensible about it in towns where it is not. As far as street names are concerned, perhaps the answer is to have bi-lingual signs to avoid be continually being asked: "How do you spell that?" or "How do you pronounce that?" We feel that some sensible balance should be made, otherwise Welsh Nationalists will go to the extreme and eventually demand that food packaging should also have the Welsh language. There is much to be said for a common language in this day and age when there are so many foreign workers in Wales - even although we acknowledge that Welsh is Europes oldest language. What a financial mess! Who is really to blame? We are aware the the current financial crisis is worldwide, but who is really to blame? Surely it is all based on greed that can be traced back in this country to Margaret Thatcher followed by Tony Blair who followed in her footsteps to the extent that he thought that his popularity would grow by creating a war with Iraq as did the Iron Lady with Falklands. A 'must have it now' culture and living on credit is the root of all the problems. This and the lack of respect for others has created a society that is practically out of control - and this is really evident in our schools where teachers are finding it difficult in keeping order due to lack of discipline. And how about the retired generation who find that they are getting no interest on their savings? Gone are the days when you had to save up to buy something. Now we have the 'never, never' schemes when parents are likely to pass their debts on to their children, when mothers (often single parents) have to go out to work instead of looking after the nest, where there is no tax incentive to get married and bring up a family with the discipline of a father. Just think back to when it all started! We think the answer is to change peoples attitudes and avoid living continually on credit - but what will the Bankers do then? A man with some sense Vince Cable Vince Cable is a Member of Parliament for Twickenham, he became Shadow Chancellor for the Liberal Democrats in the autumn of 2003. He speaks on economic and financial issues on the behalf of his party as well as shadowing and questioning actions of Alistair Darling (The Chancellor of the Exchequer). Since becoming Shadow Chancellor he has spoken on many issues such as Bank profits, Personal debt, Northern Rock and the credit crunch. Prior to the election of the current Liberal Leader, Vince Cable, in Prime Minister's question time. referred to George Brown as being like Mr Bean, the TV comic character. He gained much repect then as acting Leader and since as Shadow Chancellor. He is one of the very few politicians who is respected by all parties. NOTE.... Vince Cable appears on 'Question Time' - BBC 1 (Wales) TV on Thursday 19th March 2009 at 11:05pm. After that date the programme can be heard on the BBC Iplayer web site where you can catch up on programmes covering the last 7 days. Vince Cable's website Is there life at the Welsh Assembly? Still waiting for answers 
It is six months since we asked Dr. Dai Lloyd, the AM for this area, if he could find out if the Welsh Assembly is paying Waterstone Homes (Bridgend) 20% of the delvelopment costs towards the "White's Folly" development at Waunceirch on basis that they are building so called affordable homes.
Dr Lloyd assures us that he working on the case. The longer it takes to answer this question will make people wonder what is behind all this? We are confident that Dr Lloyd will come up with the answers to the questions that so many people are now asking. Link to Dai Lloyd's website which is hopelessly out of date at the present time. LOCAL NEWS PACT - Police And Communities Together Local meetings provide feedback The PACT meetings allow residents allow residents to meet their 'local Bobby' and also their Community and County Councillors. There will be an aim to co-ordinate Neighbourhood Watches with the PCSO's in order to provide more security to the community. Residents are imvited to attend these meeting in order to establish a better community spirit. In addition to these meetings it should be remembered that you can meet your local County Borough Councillors at their local sugeries - including the one at the Owain Glyndwr Community Centre on the first Saturday of the month at 10:00am. At the meeting on Thursday, 12th March 2009 at 6:30pm at the Owain Glyndwr Community Centre, residents expressed their concern about the state of the Bryncoch North children's playground. The Community Councillor for that area said he would bring it to the attention of the Council. Caewern Hall Saga It goes on and on After Labour Community Councillors (along with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal member) voted to close the Caewern Community Centre for health and safety reasons (and the cost of running it), the precept was set at 2%, instead of 7.9% if it was kept open. Labour members now want to keep it open without having funds to run it - except for dipping into reserves that they are obliged, by law, to keep back for emergencies. Plaid Cymru members refused to vote on a conflicting motion on the basis that it was illegal to do so. The result is that the matter is still not settled in spite of the full Council's previous decision when fixing the precept. BCC Clerk's Press Release To keep the record straight All members of Blaenhonddan Community Council have agreed that their Clerk should publish a monthly Press Release in order to keep the record straight and hopefully prevent inaccuarate and misleading newspaper reports. Letters of complaints against the Council should be addressed directly to the Clerk, either by Royal Mail or Email - see the contact details on the Council website. Press reporters should also address matters to the Clerk for an official response. Clerk's contact details Bryncoch Environment Group Group Leader gets major award 
Lynn John of the Bryncoch Environment Group is to be awarded the High Sheriff's award for 2009 for her work in the community. We congratulate her and must say the award is richly deserved. Lynn's latest achievement is the new website mentioned in version 15 of our websitewww.bryncochenvironment.co.uk A footnote Mainly for the benefit for the BNP The Neath Ferret is a group of individuals from various political parties who add their views and comments to this website. Their aim is to highlight injustices and what they think is wrong in society. If we make mistakes we will admit it - and expect others to do the same. Remember, a person who does nothing and says nothing, makes no mistakes.
Tell your friends about this website - or send them a copy by email, our website address is:- www.neathferret.co.uk Email news and comments to: news@neathferret.co.uk or use our readers letter page. Go to LATEST version Back to version 15 Bryncoch Environment Group new website, Community Service, Bats petition, Community Centres under used, Back to version 14 BNP insult our MP, Community centre news, What has our Council done? Back to version 13 Tesco disappoints, Colourful website for BCC, Chairperson change over at BCC, Peter Hain, MP. offers help. Back to version 12 The Caewern Community Hall. Questions about a 'lame duck' situation. Back to version 11 What Tesco wants Tesco gets. NOTE. Issues in version 10 are included in version 11 - including details of the Council's new complaint procedure following our item in version 9. Back to version 9 A Case for Public Services Ombudsman? Back to version 8 Councillor's website leads the way - an example for others to follow? Back to version 7 £5,000 reward for information Back to version 6 Councillor put in the picture. Back to version 5 PC Councillors scold Neath Ferret Back to Version 4 Neath Port Talbot dentist leaving NHS Back to Version 3 Anger over Neath Guardian Back to version 2 Planning consent for paedophiles? Information for this website is accepted and printed in good faith. It is gathered from various sources and may, or may not, reflect the views of the webmaster or any member of the community council or its officials. No responsibility is accepted for any errors that may occur from time to time. Sources of information must be made known to the webmaster but will not be divulged to any third party We aim to put the community first and make the residents of Neath aware of injustances and wrong doings. Neath Ferret,Neath Private EYE,Neath Ferret,Neath Private Eye,"Neath Ferret",Neath's Private Eye, Neath Ferret,Neath Private Eye,Neath Ferret,Neath Private Eye,"Neath Ferret",Neath Private Eye. Neath Ferret,Neath's Private Eye,Neath Ferret,"Neath Ferret",Neath Ferret,Neath Ferret,"Neath Ferret",Neath Private Eye - a sight for sore eyes! |