When the Plaid Driven (Labour Sat Nav) Government crashed into the bridge that promised a Welsh Language Newspaper they backtracked into a compromise lane that gave the Welsh language mag Golwg loads of money for an on-line internet presence.
It should be available today at www.golwg360.com
I am still getting a page error result at every attempt to access it - but it's early morning - let's hope for better later!
The hard copy of the periodical use to have a weekly column from former blogger Normal Mouth. Normal Mouth and I rarely agreed with each other, but I always found his arguments worth reading and worth thinking about. Normal continued to post a weekly column to Golwg long after he stopped posting on his own site. I was disappointed that Normal's rants seem to have been ditched by Golwg this week. I hope that this is just a temporary hiatus and that Normal will be restored to his former glory on the on-line edition.
There is a new column in the mag today called Byd y Blogiau (The Blogging World), which starts with the strap line Blogs are Influential - This Is What They Say. I am pleased to note that mine is one of the influential blogs noted, along with the offerings of Paul Flynn MP, Cynical Welshman (sic) and The Prof.
Looking forward to Normal and links on-line!
Showing posts with label Golwg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golwg. Show all posts
15/05/2009
30/05/2008
For Wales see Scotland
Not satisfied with his role in telling us Welsh nationalist where we are going wrong, I see that Welsh Labour blogger and Golwg columnist Normal Mouth, has decided to take on the might of the SNP too.
NM is currently enjoying a long thread debate on a post by soon to be SNP MP for the Gordon constituency, Richard Thompson's blog, on why Labour is right and the SNP is wrong re the wording of the forthcoming independence referendum.
Rhodri Morgan use to base his past success in Wales on the clear red water that was between Traditional Welsh Labour and New Labour in Westminster. I would have thought that Welsh Labour would wish to create a Clear Red Ocean between itself and the shambles that is the Labour Party in Scotland. But if Normal wants to associate the Welsh Labour party with Wendy Alexander's troubled patch, I shan't complain.
On the subject of Scottish bloggers and columnists in Welsh language magazines, I was plesantly suprised to see that Will Patterson aka J Arthur MacNumpty now has a column in the Welsh language monthly current affairs mag Barn.
I do hope that Will follows Normal's example by publishing the English "original" on blog after the mags official publication date.
NM is currently enjoying a long thread debate on a post by soon to be SNP MP for the Gordon constituency, Richard Thompson's blog, on why Labour is right and the SNP is wrong re the wording of the forthcoming independence referendum.
Rhodri Morgan use to base his past success in Wales on the clear red water that was between Traditional Welsh Labour and New Labour in Westminster. I would have thought that Welsh Labour would wish to create a Clear Red Ocean between itself and the shambles that is the Labour Party in Scotland. But if Normal wants to associate the Welsh Labour party with Wendy Alexander's troubled patch, I shan't complain.
On the subject of Scottish bloggers and columnists in Welsh language magazines, I was plesantly suprised to see that Will Patterson aka J Arthur MacNumpty now has a column in the Welsh language monthly current affairs mag Barn.
I do hope that Will follows Normal's example by publishing the English "original" on blog after the mags official publication date.
14/12/2007
Making Excuses for Child Poverty
Since he started writing for Golwg, Normal Mouth has written an interesting if opinionated and personal take on the politics of Wales and the wider world without appearing too partisan. His latest offering however changes tack - it is a full frontal partisan attack on Plaid Cymru over the issue of Child Poverty.
When Plaid says that the Assembly has few powers to tackle the issue properly, Normal claims that Plaid is being defeatist and that the party is reverting to type by pointing the finger at London as a defence.
The idea that Plaid is being realistic and honest doesn’t occur to our Labour sycophant.
Bethan Jenkins AM is Plaid's most outspoken champion on tackling Child poverty. What I hear her say is that it is a matter that needs to be dealt with at all levels of government, Assembly, Westminster, Local Authority and EU level. Rather than pointing a finger, I hear Bethan asking for better cooperation and understanding between all levels of government on this important issue.
Of course, if one level of government isn't pulling its weight, isn't doing all it can do to tackle the problem it is incumbent on the champions of the cause to point this out as both Bethan and Huw Lewis have done.
Having made his accusation Normal goes on to ask Why, then is Plaid so defeatist?
His answer is that:
I find this difficult to believe.
It is true that everybody in the Labour Party wants to end child poverty. But everybody in every other party also wants to end child poverty. Child poverty is as universally hated as apple pie is universally loved. Indeed, one only has to look through Normal's own Questions to a Welsh Political Blogger posts to see ending child poverty pop up in answers from bloggers of all persuasions.
Child poverty isn't, in fact, a problem in its own right. Child poverty is a misnomer, a bit of Nu-Lab spin designed to unite the party on an apple pie issue.
Child poverty is a by-product of adult poverty. Most poor children are those who live in households headed by poor parents. The only way to take children out of poverty is to take their parents out of poverty.
Real policies that attempted to deal with parental poverty would split Labour mercilessly along the old / new fault line and along the middle England / industrial heartland fault line. The real problem - adult poverty, is a wedge issue in the Labour party.
My issue with Huw and especially Bethan is that whilst claiming the socialist moral high ground on this issue they persist in using the Blairite euphemism of child poverty instead of campaigning for what good old fashioned socialists use to campaign for - the ending of plain POVERTY.
When Plaid says that the Assembly has few powers to tackle the issue properly, Normal claims that Plaid is being defeatist and that the party is reverting to type by pointing the finger at London as a defence.
The idea that Plaid is being realistic and honest doesn’t occur to our Labour sycophant.
Bethan Jenkins AM is Plaid's most outspoken champion on tackling Child poverty. What I hear her say is that it is a matter that needs to be dealt with at all levels of government, Assembly, Westminster, Local Authority and EU level. Rather than pointing a finger, I hear Bethan asking for better cooperation and understanding between all levels of government on this important issue.
Of course, if one level of government isn't pulling its weight, isn't doing all it can do to tackle the problem it is incumbent on the champions of the cause to point this out as both Bethan and Huw Lewis have done.
Having made his accusation Normal goes on to ask Why, then is Plaid so defeatist?
His answer is that:
Ending child poverty isn’t the Nationalists’ issue. Through its dogged persistence Labour has made the cause its own.
Ending child poverty is one of a dwindling number of policy areas that all shades of Labour can unite around. It reminds the party that real issues unite it in real ways. It is therefore an anti-wedge issue. The fact that the charge is led by Nationalist bête noire Huw Lewis only ratchets up the temperature. This is an issue that neither Lewis nor Labour can be seen to win on.
I find this difficult to believe.
It is true that everybody in the Labour Party wants to end child poverty. But everybody in every other party also wants to end child poverty. Child poverty is as universally hated as apple pie is universally loved. Indeed, one only has to look through Normal's own Questions to a Welsh Political Blogger posts to see ending child poverty pop up in answers from bloggers of all persuasions.
Child poverty isn't, in fact, a problem in its own right. Child poverty is a misnomer, a bit of Nu-Lab spin designed to unite the party on an apple pie issue.
Child poverty is a by-product of adult poverty. Most poor children are those who live in households headed by poor parents. The only way to take children out of poverty is to take their parents out of poverty.
Real policies that attempted to deal with parental poverty would split Labour mercilessly along the old / new fault line and along the middle England / industrial heartland fault line. The real problem - adult poverty, is a wedge issue in the Labour party.
My issue with Huw and especially Bethan is that whilst claiming the socialist moral high ground on this issue they persist in using the Blairite euphemism of child poverty instead of campaigning for what good old fashioned socialists use to campaign for - the ending of plain POVERTY.
04/08/2007
Adam Price in Golwg
A number of Blogs refer to Adam Price's column in the Welsh magazine Golwg dated Aug 2nd. Here is a translation of the article:
.................
Towards a Rainbow Government
It was a shock to the system walking through Whitehall last week and happening to come across Wales' Deputy First Minister leaving Gwydir House - a sort of island of Anglo-Welshness in a nondescript house overshadowed by the MoD - which serves as the home to the Wales Office.
The sun shone for a few minutes to note an historic moment: the first nationalist in power to visit London without being beheaded.
Its clear that Peter Hain was not talking about the streets of Whitehall in his semi Churchillian interview; We will fight them on the streets - whilst referring to Plaid. Taking that with the claimed comment by Betty Williams that Plaid are Nazis, one would think that a civil war rather than a coalition was about to begin.
And now a summer offensive has been announced by Major General Hain to sell "the Union" and to condemn independence. The labour party is living a duplicitous life; divorcing Plaid in London whilst still on honeymoon in Cardiff.
But in one sense Peter is right. No one should think for a second that the coalition would extend to Westminster or to County council chambers. On the contrary, in fact. For the sake of Welsh democracy, the hegemony of the Labour party needs to be challenged where they are at their worst: where they are parochial and British.
It is pretty obvious that neither Plaid Cymru – nor any other party – can do this on their own. We need allies, but perhaps not the ones we were talking to in the shadow of the rainbow.
To see the affect of Labourism at its worst on the southern valleys communities, go to Blaenau Gwent. There Peoples Voice will be challenging to take over in the local elections next year.
If we can work together with the Labour Party of every party, why should we not do so with a movement that is popular, forward thinking and truly socialist in deed not just name? After all Plaid was pioneering with this sort of cooperation in the 1992 General Election by going into coalition with the Greens in Gwent and Cardiganshire.
If such an experiment was successful the seats of the triumvirate of arch_Brits David, Touigh and Murphy would start to look very fragile. And the possibilities don't end there. A joint campaign with the Greens in the 2009 Euro-elections could see Labour beaten for the first time ever by gaining the second seat.
And who knows when the 2011 election comes, there may be a rainbow government after all - but this time with more attractive colours.
..............
Blogging responses from: Normal Mouth ... Tomos Livingstone .... Homage to Catatonia
.................
Towards a Rainbow Government
It was a shock to the system walking through Whitehall last week and happening to come across Wales' Deputy First Minister leaving Gwydir House - a sort of island of Anglo-Welshness in a nondescript house overshadowed by the MoD - which serves as the home to the Wales Office.
The sun shone for a few minutes to note an historic moment: the first nationalist in power to visit London without being beheaded.
Its clear that Peter Hain was not talking about the streets of Whitehall in his semi Churchillian interview; We will fight them on the streets - whilst referring to Plaid. Taking that with the claimed comment by Betty Williams that Plaid are Nazis, one would think that a civil war rather than a coalition was about to begin.
And now a summer offensive has been announced by Major General Hain to sell "the Union" and to condemn independence. The labour party is living a duplicitous life; divorcing Plaid in London whilst still on honeymoon in Cardiff.
But in one sense Peter is right. No one should think for a second that the coalition would extend to Westminster or to County council chambers. On the contrary, in fact. For the sake of Welsh democracy, the hegemony of the Labour party needs to be challenged where they are at their worst: where they are parochial and British.
It is pretty obvious that neither Plaid Cymru – nor any other party – can do this on their own. We need allies, but perhaps not the ones we were talking to in the shadow of the rainbow.
To see the affect of Labourism at its worst on the southern valleys communities, go to Blaenau Gwent. There Peoples Voice will be challenging to take over in the local elections next year.
If we can work together with the Labour Party of every party, why should we not do so with a movement that is popular, forward thinking and truly socialist in deed not just name? After all Plaid was pioneering with this sort of cooperation in the 1992 General Election by going into coalition with the Greens in Gwent and Cardiganshire.
If such an experiment was successful the seats of the triumvirate of arch_Brits David, Touigh and Murphy would start to look very fragile. And the possibilities don't end there. A joint campaign with the Greens in the 2009 Euro-elections could see Labour beaten for the first time ever by gaining the second seat.
And who knows when the 2011 election comes, there may be a rainbow government after all - but this time with more attractive colours.
..............
Blogging responses from: Normal Mouth ... Tomos Livingstone .... Homage to Catatonia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)