Since I started blogging some 5 years ago I have crossed swords with the likes of John the Stonemason, Adam Higgitt aka Normal Mouth; O'Neil and Kezia Duggdale, and have suffered trolling comments from the infamous KP.
It would be easy to think of these as the anti nationalists; as the enemy – people who deserved to be shouted down, kicked in the tender parts and ridiculed. They are not our enemy, they are almost our best friends. They are the people with whom we can argue the national cause, people who are interested in the concept of nationalism, despite opposing it.
In Wales, the problem that nationalist face isn't opposition to nationalism; it's just downright indifference to nationalism!
The vast majority of Welsh people belong to the "don't care – couldn't care less" spectrum as far as the national cause is concerned, it is they; not those who have thought about nationalism and decided to oppose it, who are the real challenge.
Whether we see the future of the national cause as one of reinvigorating Plaid Cymru or one of creating new nationalist movements (or a bit of both) - to succeed we must realise that those who are opposed to the national cause are not the problem; fellow nationalists with whom we have differences are absolutely not the problem; the problem is indifference and apathy.
Our main task isn't one of opposing Unionism or pissing off other nationalist (despite the fact that doing so is fun). Our main task should be one of enthusing the uncommitted into support for the National Cause
24/05/2012
The Cost of English in a bilingual Wales
One of the things that I have found interesting about the
Western Mail's attack week feature on the Welsh Language is how they conflate bilingualism
with excessive support for the Welsh Language.
A perfect example of this can be found in the support for
the paper's anti Welsh attitude garnered from Paul Murphy: who warns against 'excessive' spending on Welsh
language schemes!
The very word bilingual suggests something to do
with TWO languages so any perceived cost of bilingualism should, surely, be
shared between BOTH languages. A monolingual transcript of Assembly proceedings,
in either language, would have a price tag attached. So how much of the £400K bilingual
waste of money is actually being spent on JUST the Welsh
Language?
Does English come free of charge?
However I am willing to agree with the Western Mail,
translation costs money and in these straightened times money is short. When witnesses
appear before committees of the Assembly and present their evidence in Welsh,
or when members address those committees in Welsh, translations are a waste of money;
they are unneeded and cost too much; after all those of us who can understand
Welsh can sacrifice that wasteful spending on English in order to put
that wasted money into more worthy pots! Translating those contributions into English
is expensive, a waste of money and shouldn't be allowed!
I have attended many hundreds of bilingual meetings in Wales
during the past forty years, without ever using any translation facility – as a
fluent user of both Welsh and English I don't need translators – those who need the translation facilities are the mono-linguist English, not us bilingual Welsh speakers!
Translation, in Wales, is primarily, spending on the English Language!
Translation, in Wales, is primarily, spending on the English Language!
19/05/2012
Unopposed - WHY?
I have had some interesting responses by phone and e-mail to the newspaper article that appeared in the Weekly News mentioned in my last post. People are always welcome to e-mail me or to phone me to express their views, however there is a comments form at the bottom of every post on this blog; and the newspaper article specifically asks for a debate in its letters page.
90% of the 300+personal responses that I have had so far have been personal, mostly jocular, many supportive and a handful abusive. About 10% have been constructive and would be better made in a public forum rather than in private! I would encourage that 10% to make their comments known to the letters editors of their local papers, on blog comment forms, on twitter etc. This is an important public issue – so don't tell me personally what you think in private – tell the public what you think in public!
With 93 Welsh county councillors being elected unopposed, one county ward not even having a single candidate stand and more than 6,000 Welsh Community Councillors elected without contest, there is something wrong with the democratic process that demands that community reps are elected by the community! What's going wrong is, surely, a matter for serious debate amongst all of us who respect the democratic process!
Some of those who have contacted me have been other councillors who were elected unopposed in their various communities who feel, somehow, that my comments were a criticism of them. That, of course, is rubbish!
All of us who put our names forward for election did so knowing that an election was, at least, a possibility so we entered the fray honestly and it's not our fault that others couldn't be bothered to stand against us; but it must also be part of our responsibility, as representatives of our communities, to ask why there is such disinterest in membership of our county and community councils.
90% of the 300+personal responses that I have had so far have been personal, mostly jocular, many supportive and a handful abusive. About 10% have been constructive and would be better made in a public forum rather than in private! I would encourage that 10% to make their comments known to the letters editors of their local papers, on blog comment forms, on twitter etc. This is an important public issue – so don't tell me personally what you think in private – tell the public what you think in public!
With 93 Welsh county councillors being elected unopposed, one county ward not even having a single candidate stand and more than 6,000 Welsh Community Councillors elected without contest, there is something wrong with the democratic process that demands that community reps are elected by the community! What's going wrong is, surely, a matter for serious debate amongst all of us who respect the democratic process!
Some of those who have contacted me have been other councillors who were elected unopposed in their various communities who feel, somehow, that my comments were a criticism of them. That, of course, is rubbish!
All of us who put our names forward for election did so knowing that an election was, at least, a possibility so we entered the fray honestly and it's not our fault that others couldn't be bothered to stand against us; but it must also be part of our responsibility, as representatives of our communities, to ask why there is such disinterest in membership of our county and community councils.
18/05/2012
Community Councillor Needs to Buy New Shirt!
Damn and Blast! I should have made sure that I was wearing a decent shirt before allowing the North Wales Weekly News to photograph me for their article on my non-election to the community council! I hadn't noticed the frayed collar until I saw the picture in the paper - very embarrassing!
The tie is of my Betton family tartan, a sept of Clan MacBeth, which does not (of necessity) signify Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble for the Community Council!
08/05/2012
Plaid – for the first time – offering hope in my lifetime
One of the reasons for my Love / Hate attitude towards Plaid Cymru is Plaid's ambivalence about the I word!
I support INDEPENDENCE for Wales unequivocally. Plaid, at times has appeared rather uncertain about independence claiming that it has "never ever" been a party aim, perhaps a long term desire, something that may happen a long time after all current party voters are dead and buried etc.
I was pleased, therefore, to see that Elfyn Llwyd, who has often been as ambivalent as others on the I issue has stated that he will see Wales independent in his lifetime.
Elfyn is a few years older than I am, so Elfyn's statement is the first time EVER that I have heard a Plaid Politician predicting that I could live in an independent Wales!
Diolch Elfyn
03/05/2012
02/05/2012
Any info about Counts?
Conwy Council is counting all borough and community votes between 9am and 4pm on Friday centrally at Venue Cymru, a horrible decision!
We are electing local councillors and locals should know the results locally after a local count. The final results may not be available until Tuesday or Wednesday on the Council's website! Not good enough!
In the good old days we use to be able to toast our new councillor in the local pub at last orders on election night – that is how it should be!
How are other councils counting? Are they all centralising on Friday or will some results become available on Thursday night / the early hours of Friday morning?
We are electing local councillors and locals should know the results locally after a local count. The final results may not be available until Tuesday or Wednesday on the Council's website! Not good enough!
In the good old days we use to be able to toast our new councillor in the local pub at last orders on election night – that is how it should be!
How are other councils counting? Are they all centralising on Friday or will some results become available on Thursday night / the early hours of Friday morning?
20/04/2012
Peter Hain – Wales' Voster?
Peter Hain was a man for whom I had a lot of respect in my youth.
He was the leader of the Young Liberals whilst I was a leading member of the Merionethshire Young Liberals in the early 1970's.
When my sisters had posters of David Bowie and Donny Osmond on their bedroom walls I had a poster of Peter Hain on mine!
I have nothing but respect for Peter's valiant fight against Apartheid in the 60's and 70's, he was a national and an international hero, but despite his opposition to apartheid, Peter's political legacy seems to have been heavily influenced by SA apartheid PM Balthazar Johannes Vorster's mantra that opposing him was the same as supporting his opponents.
In true Vorster style Mr Hain claims that all votes against his party, be they from Plaid, Greens, Lib Dems, Communists, the SWP, Christian Voice, even supporters of birthday parties or Christmas parties are all closet evil Tories – any party, other than the Labour Party is the Evil Tory Party!
As a former supporter and one who use to have a great deal of respect for you, Peter, please don't transfer that sort of South African politics to Wales – we don't need it, we dont want it!
He was the leader of the Young Liberals whilst I was a leading member of the Merionethshire Young Liberals in the early 1970's.
When my sisters had posters of David Bowie and Donny Osmond on their bedroom walls I had a poster of Peter Hain on mine!
I have nothing but respect for Peter's valiant fight against Apartheid in the 60's and 70's, he was a national and an international hero, but despite his opposition to apartheid, Peter's political legacy seems to have been heavily influenced by SA apartheid PM Balthazar Johannes Vorster's mantra that opposing him was the same as supporting his opponents.
In true Vorster style Mr Hain claims that all votes against his party, be they from Plaid, Greens, Lib Dems, Communists, the SWP, Christian Voice, even supporters of birthday parties or Christmas parties are all closet evil Tories – any party, other than the Labour Party is the Evil Tory Party!
As a former supporter and one who use to have a great deal of respect for you, Peter, please don't transfer that sort of South African politics to Wales – we don't need it, we dont want it!
19/04/2012
Labour's message of support for the Tories
During the 2011 Assembly elections Peter Hain and Carwyn Jones claimed that Wales could send a message to the Westminster administration by using the Assembly vote as a referendum on Wales' opposition to the ConDem government. It was a tactic that failed. The Conservative vote in Wales went up as did the number of Conservative representatives elected to the Assembly.
As a referendum on Tory policies the last Assembly elections actually gave the Tory's an endorsement. Wales was never ever going to vote Yes to Tory policy but as a result of Labour's campaign more people voted Yes than might have been expected otherwise and the Conservative vote was boosted.
Once bitten, twice shy, one might suppose. But no! Labour are trying the same tactic again; despite knowing that using the local government elections as a referendum on Westminster Tory policies will lead to many more Conservative councillors being elected in Wales. The question has to be asked:
WHY?
Simply because it is in Labours interest to have more Conservative councillors in Wales. The Labour party has become so lazy, so stagnant, so bereft of original ideas for the betterment of local communities or for the betterment of Wales that it's only unique selling point is we are not Tories and the more Tory Councillors there are the more negative and not Tory Labour can be!
Wales deserves better! Wales deserves councillors, of all parties and of none, who put our communities first and who couldn't give a damn about sending a message to either Westminster or Cardiff Bay!
Don't waste this election as a referendum on any unrelated point, please use the election to elect a councillor who wants to represent your local community in your local council chamber as an honourable way of serving your community, rather than voting for nothing better than sending a V sign, that will be ignored, to Mr Cameron!
As a referendum on Tory policies the last Assembly elections actually gave the Tory's an endorsement. Wales was never ever going to vote Yes to Tory policy but as a result of Labour's campaign more people voted Yes than might have been expected otherwise and the Conservative vote was boosted.
Once bitten, twice shy, one might suppose. But no! Labour are trying the same tactic again; despite knowing that using the local government elections as a referendum on Westminster Tory policies will lead to many more Conservative councillors being elected in Wales. The question has to be asked:
WHY?
Simply because it is in Labours interest to have more Conservative councillors in Wales. The Labour party has become so lazy, so stagnant, so bereft of original ideas for the betterment of local communities or for the betterment of Wales that it's only unique selling point is we are not Tories and the more Tory Councillors there are the more negative and not Tory Labour can be!
Wales deserves better! Wales deserves councillors, of all parties and of none, who put our communities first and who couldn't give a damn about sending a message to either Westminster or Cardiff Bay!
Don't waste this election as a referendum on any unrelated point, please use the election to elect a councillor who wants to represent your local community in your local council chamber as an honourable way of serving your community, rather than voting for nothing better than sending a V sign, that will be ignored, to Mr Cameron!
13/04/2012
Don't sell our water, swap it for Beer!
Don't sell our water, swap it for Beer was a silly comment made by a drunk in my local pub a few days ago. We shouldn't sell our water to England or give it away for free, we should swap it for beer – a pint for every gallon! A silly comment maybe; but one that has some merit.
The whole of the UK has a fairly temperate climate; there isn't any part of these islands that suffer from the true meaning of the word drought.
The problem isn't that "Britain" is short of water; the problem is a geographic imbalance of water usage!
Too many people live in, and too many water intensive industries are based in water poor areas, like the South East of England.
The answer to the problem isn't pumping Welsh water over hundreds of miles into South East England in order to enable those water guzzling industries to survive, the answer is to rellocate those industries to Wales where the water is plentiful.
Breweries use about a gallon of water in order to make a pint of beer; why should we sell Welsh water to drought infested English brewers for a pitance when we have enough water to make our own beer, that we can then sell to England at a premium price?
Don't sell our water, swap it for Beer!!!
Update:
Welsh agenda makes a similar point in a more academic fashion
The whole of the UK has a fairly temperate climate; there isn't any part of these islands that suffer from the true meaning of the word drought.
The problem isn't that "Britain" is short of water; the problem is a geographic imbalance of water usage!
Too many people live in, and too many water intensive industries are based in water poor areas, like the South East of England.
The answer to the problem isn't pumping Welsh water over hundreds of miles into South East England in order to enable those water guzzling industries to survive, the answer is to rellocate those industries to Wales where the water is plentiful.
Breweries use about a gallon of water in order to make a pint of beer; why should we sell Welsh water to drought infested English brewers for a pitance when we have enough water to make our own beer, that we can then sell to England at a premium price?
Don't sell our water, swap it for Beer!!!
Update:
Welsh agenda makes a similar point in a more academic fashion
07/04/2012
Is Labour's Wet Dream also Plaid's Wet Dream?
One of the things that makes me hate left wing politics in general, and the Labour Party in particular, is the feeling that the left needs poverty and deprivation in order to justify its existence. If the Labour heartland was lifted out of hardship and became prosperous would it still vote Labour?
The answer is a resounding NO!
Because of that the areas that have voted Labour for the past 100 years are still the poorest and most deprived parts of the United Kingdom; places like the South Wales Valleys and Glasgow have been made poorer under every single Labour Government, voting Labour has worked against them, because if Labour had helped to lift those loyal communities out of poverty and hardship they might not vote for the poor man's party any more.
My feeling about Labour was confirmed this week by a, now erased, YouTube in which a Senior Labour Politician described rising unemployment and inflation as an orgasmic wet dream for the left; claiming, more or less, that the poorer people are the more likely they are to vote Labour – so poverty is good news for Labour.
There is a Nationalist argument, which is largely true, that Wales; since time immemorial, has been the poorest part of England and Wales / Great Britain / The United kingdom because it has been exploited and ignored – an independent Wales couldn't be worse off than an exploited Wales has been for the past 500 years!
Doesn't this make the ability to complain about exploitation and poverty and deprivation a wet dream for Plaid's left wing too?
Or can those of us who want Wales to succeed work together in order to create a vibrant Welsh capitalist / co-operative economy that serves Wales well and leads the people of Wales to believe that we are able to beat poverty and stand on our own two feet - rather than being chained to the left wing poverty trap!
The answer is a resounding NO!
Because of that the areas that have voted Labour for the past 100 years are still the poorest and most deprived parts of the United Kingdom; places like the South Wales Valleys and Glasgow have been made poorer under every single Labour Government, voting Labour has worked against them, because if Labour had helped to lift those loyal communities out of poverty and hardship they might not vote for the poor man's party any more.
My feeling about Labour was confirmed this week by a, now erased, YouTube in which a Senior Labour Politician described rising unemployment and inflation as an orgasmic wet dream for the left; claiming, more or less, that the poorer people are the more likely they are to vote Labour – so poverty is good news for Labour.
There is a Nationalist argument, which is largely true, that Wales; since time immemorial, has been the poorest part of England and Wales / Great Britain / The United kingdom because it has been exploited and ignored – an independent Wales couldn't be worse off than an exploited Wales has been for the past 500 years!
Doesn't this make the ability to complain about exploitation and poverty and deprivation a wet dream for Plaid's left wing too?
Or can those of us who want Wales to succeed work together in order to create a vibrant Welsh capitalist / co-operative economy that serves Wales well and leads the people of Wales to believe that we are able to beat poverty and stand on our own two feet - rather than being chained to the left wing poverty trap!
06/04/2012
Call me Cllr MOF
I have been elected, without contest, to Llansanffraid Glan Conwy Community Council. With only 11 candidates for 12 seats there will be no election for the community council again this year.
Having looked through old local newspapers I cannot find any reference to Glan Conwy Council being subject to election since the end of the Second World War (with the exception of me and Dan standing in a by-election last year).
I'm sure that Glan Conwy isn't unique in this respect; there will be a large number of other community councilors who are also selected without election through all of Wales.
I have been congratulated on my "election" by many members of the community, but I don't think that congratulations are in order; I am bitterly disappointed that I have just been selected without having to go through the rigours of the electoral process. I would have preferred to have stood an election, made my case and lost miserably rather than be, yet another shoo in, in the long list of shoo ins to the council!
Community Councils are the foundation stone of the democratic process, the fact that so many community councillors are selected without election makes a farce of local democracy.
--------------
There are four candidates for the County Council elections in the Llansanffraid Ward for Conwy
Ivonne Sarah Lesiter-Burgess Welsh Liberal Democrat
John Malcolm Spicer Independent
Dan Worsley Welsh Conservative Party
and
the candidate who will have my support
Graham "Gas" Rees
Having looked through old local newspapers I cannot find any reference to Glan Conwy Council being subject to election since the end of the Second World War (with the exception of me and Dan standing in a by-election last year).
I'm sure that Glan Conwy isn't unique in this respect; there will be a large number of other community councilors who are also selected without election through all of Wales.
I have been congratulated on my "election" by many members of the community, but I don't think that congratulations are in order; I am bitterly disappointed that I have just been selected without having to go through the rigours of the electoral process. I would have preferred to have stood an election, made my case and lost miserably rather than be, yet another shoo in, in the long list of shoo ins to the council!
Community Councils are the foundation stone of the democratic process, the fact that so many community councillors are selected without election makes a farce of local democracy.
--------------
There are four candidates for the County Council elections in the Llansanffraid Ward for Conwy
Ivonne Sarah Lesiter-Burgess Welsh Liberal Democrat
John Malcolm Spicer Independent
Dan Worsley Welsh Conservative Party
and
the candidate who will have my support
Graham "Gas" Rees
20/03/2012
A New National Party?
There has been some discussion of late about creating a New Nationalist Party in Wales, by people who are as peeved with Plaid as I often am.
My general attitude is one of the more the merrier. Many different organisations pleading the national cause from differing viewpoints can only benefit the overall cause of national self determination.
The problem that I have with almost every proponent of a new nationalist party is the lack of ambition; almost all proponents of such a party seem to want to oppose Plaid Cymru!
Why?
Plaid Cymru has 3 out of 40 MPs, 11 out of 60 AMs, gained 19% of the vote in the last Assembly elections on a turnout of just 42% - less than 10% of those eligible to vote. A new nationalist party that just wants to steal a portion of Plaid's vote is a waste of time and would dilute the national cause – what gain would there be for the general cause if there were 3 or 4 more unionist Assembly Members in the Senedd as a result of the New National Party splitting the Plaid vote?
If a New National Party was formed that could appeal to the 58% of those who couldn't be arsed to vote in 2011, or that took votes from the Unionist Labour Party or the Unionist Conservative Party or the Federalist Lib Dems – I might be interested, but I just can't see the point of a new party that restricts its ambition to pinching a small part of Plaid's electoral support because of petty ideological spite.
My general attitude is one of the more the merrier. Many different organisations pleading the national cause from differing viewpoints can only benefit the overall cause of national self determination.
The problem that I have with almost every proponent of a new nationalist party is the lack of ambition; almost all proponents of such a party seem to want to oppose Plaid Cymru!
Why?
Plaid Cymru has 3 out of 40 MPs, 11 out of 60 AMs, gained 19% of the vote in the last Assembly elections on a turnout of just 42% - less than 10% of those eligible to vote. A new nationalist party that just wants to steal a portion of Plaid's vote is a waste of time and would dilute the national cause – what gain would there be for the general cause if there were 3 or 4 more unionist Assembly Members in the Senedd as a result of the New National Party splitting the Plaid vote?
If a New National Party was formed that could appeal to the 58% of those who couldn't be arsed to vote in 2011, or that took votes from the Unionist Labour Party or the Unionist Conservative Party or the Federalist Lib Dems – I might be interested, but I just can't see the point of a new party that restricts its ambition to pinching a small part of Plaid's electoral support because of petty ideological spite.
16/03/2012
Congratulations Leanne
I would like to offer sincere congratulations to Leanne Wood on gaining the leadership of Plaid Cymru.
There is no secret in the fact that there are huge differences of opinion between my right of centre politics and Leanne's left wing politics.
I have berated Leanne's political stance on a regular basis since I started blogging; I don't expect that to change! The posts in which I have noted that Leanne and I disagree are the ones which have attracted the greatest number of comments by both those who support her and those who agree with me! That is Leanne's strength as a party leader; she is a politician who can spark fierce debate, a woman whose opinions attract a strong response be it in her favour or against her.
Too many of our current politicians are people who are too respectable and too moderate; people who are afraid to upset anyone; people who follow the crowd rather than challenge people to think about alternative routes.
According to the old cliché the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you. Unfortunately people have not talked much about Plaid, Independence or the alternatives to the political consensus recently!
Leanne is a woman who cannot "not be talked about", she is a lady whose views tend to create a fierce political debate.
As long as she isn't mesmerised by the importance of her new office or forced into compromise by party advisors too worried about rocking the boat, Leanne's uncompromising and clear views on all the important issues facing Wales will created interesting, sometimes heated, debates which will not only be beneficial to Plaid Cymru but will also be beneficial to Welsh politics in general.
There is no secret in the fact that there are huge differences of opinion between my right of centre politics and Leanne's left wing politics.
I have berated Leanne's political stance on a regular basis since I started blogging; I don't expect that to change! The posts in which I have noted that Leanne and I disagree are the ones which have attracted the greatest number of comments by both those who support her and those who agree with me! That is Leanne's strength as a party leader; she is a politician who can spark fierce debate, a woman whose opinions attract a strong response be it in her favour or against her.
Too many of our current politicians are people who are too respectable and too moderate; people who are afraid to upset anyone; people who follow the crowd rather than challenge people to think about alternative routes.
According to the old cliché the only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you. Unfortunately people have not talked much about Plaid, Independence or the alternatives to the political consensus recently!
Leanne is a woman who cannot "not be talked about", she is a lady whose views tend to create a fierce political debate.
As long as she isn't mesmerised by the importance of her new office or forced into compromise by party advisors too worried about rocking the boat, Leanne's uncompromising and clear views on all the important issues facing Wales will created interesting, sometimes heated, debates which will not only be beneficial to Plaid Cymru but will also be beneficial to Welsh politics in general.
10/03/2012
Defining marriage to exclude gays!
I am always busy on a Thursday night, so I always miss the politics programmes. Why do all of them have to be broadcast on a Thursday? It must be boring for those not interested in politics, and is frustrating for those of us addicts who like our daily fix of politics.
I have just caught up with Thursday’s QT and a claim by Cardinal O’Brian that proposals for gay marriage are “redefining” the meaning of marriage!
The term marriage, in my experience, seems to have a much wider meaning, than the narrow one that the Cardinal wishes to restrict it to.
When I was doing woodwork in school we had to do joints, mine were never good enough because they didn’t marry together!
When I watch antiques programmes on the telly I hear the term marriage for two bits of antiquity that don’t naturally belong together but are, however, joined together – like a 19th century mirror on a 18th century dressing table.
The person trying to redefine the word marriage is the Cardinal; he is trying to claim that the word marriage can only be used to describe Holy Matrimony as accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. But he is wrong, even there.
When Catholic people were executed for the abomination of homosexuality, they were condemned for the sin of marriage of men, so the Catholic Church actually acknowledges that gay marriage exists, even if it has never approved of it, because it has murdered people for partaking in it!
If the Cardinal doesn’t want to ask God’s blessing on the marriage of two men or two women, he shouldn’t be forced to do so; but why should a Catholic dictate that I, as a Methodist, shouldn’t be allowed by law to ask God for that blessing?
In civil proceedings what practical difference is there between a civil partnership and a civil marriage? None! Why should a man-woman civil proceeding be given a different term to that of the same man-man or woman-woman civil proceeding?
I have just caught up with Thursday’s QT and a claim by Cardinal O’Brian that proposals for gay marriage are “redefining” the meaning of marriage!
The term marriage, in my experience, seems to have a much wider meaning, than the narrow one that the Cardinal wishes to restrict it to.
When I was doing woodwork in school we had to do joints, mine were never good enough because they didn’t marry together!
When I watch antiques programmes on the telly I hear the term marriage for two bits of antiquity that don’t naturally belong together but are, however, joined together – like a 19th century mirror on a 18th century dressing table.
The person trying to redefine the word marriage is the Cardinal; he is trying to claim that the word marriage can only be used to describe Holy Matrimony as accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. But he is wrong, even there.
When Catholic people were executed for the abomination of homosexuality, they were condemned for the sin of marriage of men, so the Catholic Church actually acknowledges that gay marriage exists, even if it has never approved of it, because it has murdered people for partaking in it!
If the Cardinal doesn’t want to ask God’s blessing on the marriage of two men or two women, he shouldn’t be forced to do so; but why should a Catholic dictate that I, as a Methodist, shouldn’t be allowed by law to ask God for that blessing?
In civil proceedings what practical difference is there between a civil partnership and a civil marriage? None! Why should a man-woman civil proceeding be given a different term to that of the same man-man or woman-woman civil proceeding?
29/02/2012
Statistics, damned statistics and independence
Earlier this month a poll, by ITV Wales/ YouGov, asked voters how Wales should be governed just 10% said Wales should become independent and only a third of Plaid Cymru voters said that they would want an independent Wales.
Interesting findings.
The Population of Wales is just shy of 3 Million (about 2.2 milion of voting age), so if this data is correct about 300,000 of us want Wales to be independent. That is a huge base on which to build the national cause.
Plaid Cymru gained about 170,000 votes in the last Assembly elections; if only one third of them support independence fewer than 60 thousand of the 300 thousand supporters of independence voted Plaid!
ITV/YouGov's finding that only one sixth of the supporters of independence vote for Plaid Cymru should be food for thought for whoever becomes the next Plaid leader!
It must also be food for thought for us non-aligned Welsh nationalists!
There is clearly a need for a non party / cross party organisation that can represent the views of close to a quarter of a million supporters of independence who didn't vote Plaid last time, for whatever reason, but might like another way of expressing their support to the national cause.
Interesting findings.
The Population of Wales is just shy of 3 Million (about 2.2 milion of voting age), so if this data is correct about 300,000 of us want Wales to be independent. That is a huge base on which to build the national cause.
Plaid Cymru gained about 170,000 votes in the last Assembly elections; if only one third of them support independence fewer than 60 thousand of the 300 thousand supporters of independence voted Plaid!
ITV/YouGov's finding that only one sixth of the supporters of independence vote for Plaid Cymru should be food for thought for whoever becomes the next Plaid leader!
It must also be food for thought for us non-aligned Welsh nationalists!
There is clearly a need for a non party / cross party organisation that can represent the views of close to a quarter of a million supporters of independence who didn't vote Plaid last time, for whatever reason, but might like another way of expressing their support to the national cause.
23/02/2012
A Lord as leader of Plaid! How daft is that?
I love Dafydd Elis Thomas, in my opinion he is the most influential person to enter Welsh political life since Owain Glyndŵr, he is a national hero!
Without a shadow of doubt Dafydd is the most able, the most experienced and most capable Assembly Member in Cardiff Bay, regardless of party affiliation. Dafydd is a man that the whole of Wales, not just Plaid supporters, should be extremely proud of; a National Treasure!
If Dafydd was just Dr Thomas AM, I would say that he would be an exemplary leader of Plaid and a man made to be an excellent First Minister!
But Dafydd is not Dr Thomas any more he is Lord Ellis-Thomas of Nant Conwy, for better or worse.
On personal merit Dafydd is head and shoulders above the rest of the field! But his title is a burden that Plaid cannot afford!
If Plaid elects a Lord to become the leader of a Nationalist Left of Centre Party it will become a laughing stock!
Despite his undoubted merits, every vote for the good Lord will be a stab in the heart to the national cause. Comparisons will be made between the Third Marquis of Salisbury and the First Lord of Nant Conwy and those comparisons will hurt.
Please, Plaid don't do it!
Without a shadow of doubt Dafydd is the most able, the most experienced and most capable Assembly Member in Cardiff Bay, regardless of party affiliation. Dafydd is a man that the whole of Wales, not just Plaid supporters, should be extremely proud of; a National Treasure!
If Dafydd was just Dr Thomas AM, I would say that he would be an exemplary leader of Plaid and a man made to be an excellent First Minister!
But Dafydd is not Dr Thomas any more he is Lord Ellis-Thomas of Nant Conwy, for better or worse.
On personal merit Dafydd is head and shoulders above the rest of the field! But his title is a burden that Plaid cannot afford!
If Plaid elects a Lord to become the leader of a Nationalist Left of Centre Party it will become a laughing stock!
Despite his undoubted merits, every vote for the good Lord will be a stab in the heart to the national cause. Comparisons will be made between the Third Marquis of Salisbury and the First Lord of Nant Conwy and those comparisons will hurt.
Please, Plaid don't do it!
22/02/2012
Where did Plaid hold its Open Husting Event?
I find it odd that Plaid Cymru; a party which claims to be the most down to earth, most working class, most socialist party in Wales and the party who's pulse beats closest to the beat of the heart of the Welsh nation should choose to hold its open hustings meeting in the most exclusive hotel in the country!
If the battle is to be won in hostelries, won't it be won in spit and sawdust pubs rather than in stared hotels?
If the battle is to be won in hostelries, won't it be won in spit and sawdust pubs rather than in stared hotels?
17/02/2012
What is Fluency in Welsh?
This post was going to be a comment on a post on the National Left blog but has grown too long.
The background is that on Tuesday the Welsh Language Board issued a report that claimed that the number of Fluent Welsh speakers was declining by about 3,000 per year despite the fact that the 2001 and probably the 2011 census results have / will show an overall increase in the numbers of Welsh speakers. If rumours are correct the 2011 census will show that Welsh is now spoken by slightly more than was the case forty years ago in 1971.
The Welsh Language Board claims that the census increases might give false optimism for the fate of the language because heads of households might think that because their offspring do Welsh in school that they are more capable in the language than is practically true, so the census results are very subjective.
I agree.
The problem with the WLB's report is that it is also based on self reporting and is probably as subjective as the Census results. Many first language Welsh speakers feel that their Welsh isn't good enough, despite the fact that they use the language naturally and properly on a daily basis, so they don't declare themselves as fluent.
A few years ago I was in a pub in Llanrwst where two women were complaining to me about an advert for a job in a local retirement home being advertised as one where an ability to speak Welsh is essential. They thought that this unfairly discriminated against them because they were prohibited from applying for the job. The complaint was made in very down to earth colloquial Welsh. When I asked them what the problem was they both replied that our Welsh isn't good enough! They didn't perceive themselves as matching the WLB's fluency threshold, despite being native Welsh speakers!
For us to be able to measure how the language is fairing and in order to enhance its use we need a much more objective way of measuring language skills than either the Census or the WLB's surveys!
I live in a village where the 2001 Census claims that about 35% of the villagers speak Welsh.
I can make a case that puts this as a gross underestimation. I suspect that around 90% of my neighbours understand and use Welsh terms such as "croeso", "bore da", "iechyd da", "paned", "Ysgol", "Ysbyty" etc daily. They know how to spell Betws y Coed, and live in streets called Ffordd---, Rhes---, Bryn---, Maes--- know how to pronounce them properly and know their meaning – I think that such people should be encouraged to consider themselves as Welsh Speakers, as owners of the language and stakeholders in its future.
I could also make the case that the 35% is a gross over exaggeration. I very much doubt that 35% of the villagers actually converse in Welsh on a daily basis, feel comfortable speaking Welsh or would prefer to speak Welsh rather than English.
We can't have an objective assessment that covers everybody in Wales, but a generic Welsh in the Workplace qualification which ranges from the greeting knowledge that 90% have at level one to the specialist proofreading knowledge that perhaps 1% have at level 7, that tells the people of Wales when the Welsh that they know is good enough and encourages them to improve on it might be a step in the right direction.
The background is that on Tuesday the Welsh Language Board issued a report that claimed that the number of Fluent Welsh speakers was declining by about 3,000 per year despite the fact that the 2001 and probably the 2011 census results have / will show an overall increase in the numbers of Welsh speakers. If rumours are correct the 2011 census will show that Welsh is now spoken by slightly more than was the case forty years ago in 1971.
The Welsh Language Board claims that the census increases might give false optimism for the fate of the language because heads of households might think that because their offspring do Welsh in school that they are more capable in the language than is practically true, so the census results are very subjective.
I agree.
The problem with the WLB's report is that it is also based on self reporting and is probably as subjective as the Census results. Many first language Welsh speakers feel that their Welsh isn't good enough, despite the fact that they use the language naturally and properly on a daily basis, so they don't declare themselves as fluent.
A few years ago I was in a pub in Llanrwst where two women were complaining to me about an advert for a job in a local retirement home being advertised as one where an ability to speak Welsh is essential. They thought that this unfairly discriminated against them because they were prohibited from applying for the job. The complaint was made in very down to earth colloquial Welsh. When I asked them what the problem was they both replied that our Welsh isn't good enough! They didn't perceive themselves as matching the WLB's fluency threshold, despite being native Welsh speakers!
For us to be able to measure how the language is fairing and in order to enhance its use we need a much more objective way of measuring language skills than either the Census or the WLB's surveys!
I live in a village where the 2001 Census claims that about 35% of the villagers speak Welsh.
I can make a case that puts this as a gross underestimation. I suspect that around 90% of my neighbours understand and use Welsh terms such as "croeso", "bore da", "iechyd da", "paned", "Ysgol", "Ysbyty" etc daily. They know how to spell Betws y Coed, and live in streets called Ffordd---, Rhes---, Bryn---, Maes--- know how to pronounce them properly and know their meaning – I think that such people should be encouraged to consider themselves as Welsh Speakers, as owners of the language and stakeholders in its future.
I could also make the case that the 35% is a gross over exaggeration. I very much doubt that 35% of the villagers actually converse in Welsh on a daily basis, feel comfortable speaking Welsh or would prefer to speak Welsh rather than English.
We can't have an objective assessment that covers everybody in Wales, but a generic Welsh in the Workplace qualification which ranges from the greeting knowledge that 90% have at level one to the specialist proofreading knowledge that perhaps 1% have at level 7, that tells the people of Wales when the Welsh that they know is good enough and encourages them to improve on it might be a step in the right direction.
01/02/2012
Poems and Politics- Liverpool Lullaby by Stan Kelly
A discussion on the Better Nation Blog about proposals for the Scottish Parliament to make smacking children illegal reminded me of this poignant poem by Stan Kelly. It is about an abused child who is likely to grow up to become a replica of his abusive father, but his Ma' still loves him to bits because he is her baby.
A fantastic poem, made into a fantastic song by Cilla Black:
Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid.
When he hears the things that you did,
You'll gerra belt from your Da.
Oh you have your father's nose,
So crimson in the dark it glows,
If you're not asleep when the boozers close,
You'll gerra belt from your Da.
You look so scruffy lying there
Strawberry-jam tarts in yer hair,
In all the world you haven't a care
And I have got so many.
It's quite a struggle every day
Living on your father's pay,
The begger drinks it all away
And leaves me without any.
Although you have no silver spoon,
Better days are coming soon
Our Nelly's working at the Lune
And she gets paid on Friday.
Perhaps one day we'll have a splash,
When Littlewoods provide the cash,
We'll get a house in Knotty Ash
And buy your Da a brewery.
Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid.
When he hears the things that you did
You'll gerra belt from your Da.
Oh you have your father's face,
You're growing up a real hard case,
But there's no one can take your place,
.... Go fast asleep for yer Mammy.
A fantastic poem, made into a fantastic song by Cilla Black:
Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid.
When he hears the things that you did,
You'll gerra belt from your Da.
Oh you have your father's nose,
So crimson in the dark it glows,
If you're not asleep when the boozers close,
You'll gerra belt from your Da.
You look so scruffy lying there
Strawberry-jam tarts in yer hair,
In all the world you haven't a care
And I have got so many.
It's quite a struggle every day
Living on your father's pay,
The begger drinks it all away
And leaves me without any.
Although you have no silver spoon,
Better days are coming soon
Our Nelly's working at the Lune
And she gets paid on Friday.
Perhaps one day we'll have a splash,
When Littlewoods provide the cash,
We'll get a house in Knotty Ash
And buy your Da a brewery.
Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid.
When he hears the things that you did
You'll gerra belt from your Da.
Oh you have your father's face,
You're growing up a real hard case,
But there's no one can take your place,
.... Go fast asleep for yer Mammy.
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