Neis bod yn Rong

Rhaid imi ymddiheuro i'n hoff wleidyddion yn y Cynulliad. Codent i'r sialens wedi'r cwbl i adeiladu consensws synhwyrol. Gobeithio bydd y clymblaid yn ein arwain i ddyfodol disglair!

wel dwi ddim yn wir disgwyl cymaint a hynny. Ond edrychaf ymlaen at ddealltwriaeth cynnyddol rhwng ddwy prif canran gwleidyddol ein Gwlad fach. Mae'r clymblaid pinko a gwyrdd-olau ohonom.

The futures bright the future's beige.

Dyfnffrio

Pizza, bar Mars, Terfysgwr....mae popeth yn cael eu dyfnffrio yn Glasgow!

ewwwww


Pizza, Mars bar, Terrorist.... everything gets deep fried in Glasgow.

ewwww

Democracy

I recieved a Labour e-mail a few months Ago. "It would appear your membership has lapsed. Don't lose the chance to choose our new leader and Prime Minister. REJOIN NOW" Looks like I saved myself 36 quid!

What annoys me is that half of "NEW" Labour can't stand Gordon Brown but haven't got the balls to oppose him. ANd the left who didn't help McDonnell have denied members a say. The Party no longer belongs to the members. It's just a club for alleged "representatives". They seem to think of their career prospects. Prospects that are vunerable to spitefull personal grudges.

Secondly. In general the welsh have voted for Labour and Plaid. Two parties on the left with only constitutional aims that truly seperate them. Other than the independence issue there is braod agreement on basic principles. Shouldn't the Welsh electorate get what they have voted for. Namely a compromise and therefore coalition of the Red and Green? But yet again it's the "elected representatives" and their stupid personal grudges that gets in the way.

Sawl gair ar Ddemocratiaeth

Mae dau peth mod i 'mo'yn dweud.

Ces i neges e-bost oddi wrth y blaid Lafur sawl mis yn ol.
" Ymddengys i'ch aelodaeth wedi dod i ben! Peidiwch a cholli'r siawns pleidleisio dros ein arweinydd a Phryf-Weinidog newydd! AIL YMUNWCH NAWR!"
Arbedais i £36 imi fy hun felly. Nid yw hanner Lafur newydd yn fodlon gyda Mr Brown. Nid oes ganddynt y cerrig i'w wrthwynebu. Nid yw'r aelodau ar y chwith yn San Steffan yn fodlon rhoi siawns i'r aelodau cyffredin dewis be' yn union bydd dyfodol y blaid. Nid ydyw Lafur yn blaid i'w aelodau erbyn hyn, Clwb yw e i'r "Cynrychiolwyr" honedig. Mae eu gyrfau sy'n bwysig iddynt. Gyrfau a allai gael eu amharu gan gynhennau sbeitlyd personol twp.


Yn ail hoffwn traethu ychydig ar y cynulliad.
Mae Pobl Cymru, yn gyffredinol, wedi pleidleisio dros "Lafur" a "Plaid". Ddwy blaid y chwith sydd gan dim ond un prif wahaniaeth. Dim ond eu cysyniadau am ddyfodol cyfansoddiadol ein gwlad fach sy'dd yn eu gwahanu'n ideolegol. Heblaw am hynny mae cytundeb bras am rhan fwyaf o egwyddorion.
Onid yw'n amlwg taw dewis pobl cymru ydy cyfaddawd a felly clymblaid y goch a'r wyrdd? Ond unwaith eto mae cynnen sbeitlyd personol a thwp sy'n rhwystro cynnydd.

Own Goal by Labour?

Watch the You Tube film about the tory years


Ffilm lafur am y Toris sydd ar You Tube. Ond mae'r ffyrdd y mae pobl ar y ffilm yn anobeithio wrth i'r geiriau "bydded i'r heniaith barhau" ganu'n fy atgyfodaf i am agweddau ofnadw i'r iaith o fewn Lafur. Er bod Lafur yn well na'r Toris wrthynt reoli'r economi, does fawr i ganu amdano.

The film shows people being dispondent in the rain, this dispondancy goes with the words "May the old language persist". Which reminds me of the near racist attitudes within large sections of the party towards the Welsh Language.
Yes Labour is economically better than the tories but there's not much to sing about.

Prifysgolion i wbod gwybodaeth am Deuluoedd.

Should Universities know the social background of applicants?
Too Bloody right they should.

Pwy sy'n cwyno am Hyn? - y sawl sydd gyda manteision.
"Mae rhaid i'r cae bod yn wastad i bawb" dwedodd dyn sy'n cynrychioli'r ysgolion preifat. Ond pam y mae'n annheg i wbod pwy sydd wedi dechrau yn y blaen.
Yntydi B y bachgen croenddu gyda Mam sengl sydd heb addysg prifysgol a sy'n gweithio i'r cyngor fel glanheuwres, yn syfrdanol o well na'r A sydd gan Tywysogion Siarl. wpps,sori, anghofiais aeth Siarl i Brifysgol gyda dim ond D.

Who's complaining? - the ones with advantages.
"We must have a level playing field said the man from the private schools association. But why is it unfair to know who's had a head start?
Isn't the B of a black youth with an Degree-less, council cleaner, single mother far superior to the A that Prince Charles got? - oops, sorry, I forgot that Charles got into Uni with D's.

Hen Gar Fi, My Old Car

Mae fy hen gar ar fap Wikimapia. Wedi sgrapio fe bron pum mlynedd yn ol.
Wikimapia has a pic of my old car on it. I scrapped it nearly five years ago.

Contaminated Fuel - bird flu link

Mae'n pur syndod imi does neb wedi cynnig taw cyswllt rhwng clefydd wedi ei mwtadu sy'n lladd yr adar a'r tanwydd sy'n lladd ceir. Ond ffan theori conspirasi dw i.

I'm surprised no-one has tried to suggest that mutated bird flu is poisoning the petrol that kills cars. But then I'm a conspiracy theory fan.

Taylorism

Meddyliodd dizzy taw David Taylor sydd y tu ol i'r cofrestru o barthau wefanau yn cefnogu Alan Johnson am Feurher newydd Lafur newydd? Mae bloggerhead yn cytuno ag ef fel yr oedd y Cylgrawn Tribune.

Sgwn i taw ein Dafydd Taylor ni ydy'r un dyn?


I wonder if our own David Taylor is the guy Dizzy and Bloggerhead believe is behind the registering domain names to support Alan Johnson's Feuhrership bid for New Labour?

LabOUR

Dwi newydd dileu'r eicon "LabOUR" gan ffaeliodd yr ymdrech. Mae sawl dolen yn fy mar-ochor nawr hefyd.

since the LabOUR efort failed i just removed the icon. There are a few new links in my sidebar now too.

Liberal Controlled Cardiff Council shits on Grangetown

Grangetown Children and Cardiff Athletics Club are to have their sports facilities taken away so that Sam Hamman can make some more Money. The Athletics Stadium is to be demolished to make way for the bluebirds new home. Despite previous assurances the athletics Stadium will now NOT be built first.

Leighton Andrews AM is right that "Plaid Cymru's Daft idea" shows their total misunderstanding of the logistics and problems. He seems unaware however that grangetown has experienced a series of let downs and dubious goings on by councilors and business when it comes to sport and leisure facilities.

Lets get the conspiracy theories out of the way first,
Despite the rantings of a few nutters in cardiff pubs there is no evidence to sugest even the posibility that the convienient closure of Cardiff City Farm due to financial problems after a series of Arson attacks was in any way connected to football hooligans support for plans to build the new stadium.
-This tragic loss of an important local facility was of course sadly inevitable.

Only a cynical lunatic could say that the "poison soil" in houses adjacent to the new site are a ploy to make compulsory purchase orders easier. -hey ho!

Having said that, this story has all the hallmarks of the way Cardiff Empire pool was demolished to build a pub and cinema complex outside the millenium Stadium. Grangetown was "given to understand" that we would soon have an Olympic size pool in ferry rd. - they haven't even laid foundations yet. If Grangetown had kept our hard working Labour Councillors I'm sure we wouldn't be in this mess. I know they were adamant that the Empire Pool would not repeat itself. Unfortunatly they were victims of Cardiff's animosity towards Russell Goodway (mayor and arch New-Labourite) 's arrogance. - something the party nationaly should learn from.

Rudyard Kipling

Mae cartwn yn Tribune heddiw sy'n fy atgyfodi fi am ba mor dda ydoedd Rudyard Kipling fel Llenor. Mae'n dyfynnu y gerdd The Young British Soldier, yn nes at llun o Doni Fler mewn gwisg Capten y Fyddin Fictoriadd.

When you're wounded and left on Afganistan's plains

And the Women come out to cut up what remains

Jest roll on your rifle and blow out your brains

An go to yer Gawd like a soldier...

Fel arfer gwelwyd Kipling fel Brydeiniwr rhonc a gefnogodd yr Ymerodraeth a dim mwy. Dyna'r farn eich bod chi'n debyg o'i weld ar Maes-e. Mae cywirdeb yn y barn ond mae'n lawer mwy amwys na hynny, fel y mae erthygl yma o India yn ei ganmoli yn traethu sawl agwedd bositif yn ei ysgrifen am rinweddau India a'i phobl. Bu Rudyard yn garedig iawn i'r milwr cyffredin Megis y gerdd Danny Deever sy'n tosturi dros milwyr cyffredin mewn sefyllfa erchyll sy'n dangos eu dyniolaeth. Mae stori enwog Sahib's War yn dangos rhogoriaethau dynion o India ac Awstralia dros dirywiad y Saeson. Sydd yn destun y stori fer Mary Postgate lle mae hen fenyw chwerw yn darganfod Awerynnwr ifainc o Almaenwr wedi ei anafu'n ddifrifol. Oherwydd marw ei fab yn rhyfel y byd gyntaf gwylio ef yn marw y wnaiff, yn hytrach na cael cymorth iddo.

Mae'n ysgrifennwr gwerth ei ddarllen.

Blaenau Gwent

I just posted this reply to Leighton Andrews' Blog. I disagree with his analysis of what went wrong in Blaenau.

I think the problem is much deeper than a sympathy vote for trish law. I sense a real anger in the country about Labour's direction. No-one (sensible) would go back to the days of Militant and the Bennite purism of "resolutionary Socialism" but trade unionists, and those of us who have tried to argue for policies which are centered on protecting communities feel badly let down - despite the very real gains made (near full employment, creating asbos etc)

Elected members and party employees are increasingly seen as an out of touch, arogant and uncaring bunch of middle managers. An example (sorry to harp on about one of my pet issues) is your recent "joke" about Welsh speakers driving up house prices in Pontcanna. Yes its a bit of fun to take an easy swipe at the sillier Nats, but such "jokes" belittle people facing very real hardships, and stir up bad feeling between non-welsh speakers and welsh speakers.
I have no doubt that the assembly campaign will yet again be a slanging match that sets up "Language Ethnicity" as an issue.

This however is merely the final straw. What with Iraq, Blair's renaging on the Warick agreement, Pfi, the home office, NHS, and letting Prescott (who now has as much credibility as Ron Davies -rip) hang on as a fig leaf for Blair, I've finally cancelled my Direct Debit to the Party - I'm only a member till the middle of July Now.
I still consider myself part of the Labour Movement. But I feel that a an inactive member I'm doing a greater service to the Party by being part of the "haemoraging membership".

I want to be free to say that the best thing that can happen to the Labour Party now is a disaster in the Assembly elections, which will be a spur to genuine renewal. - that's not code for Brown by the way, I want to see a proper contest that deals with the real issues.

Mae'r Byd Ar y FFordd, Welsh Language Daily Paper on it's way!

Why is the BBC so Negative?

Pam? gan fod euogrwydd 'da'r dosbarth canol Cymreig am eu esgeulustod a diffyg fenter. Mae'n newyddion gwych y bydd PApur Newydd dyddiol 'da ni yn fuan. Bydd yn helpu creu diwylliant sifig a chenedlaethol go iawn. Byddwn i disgwyl i'r cenedlaetholwyr gwneud mwy o swn am greu infastructure genedlaethol.

Probably because the welsh middle class is feeling guilty about it's apathy and lack of enterprise. It's great news that we'll soon have a daily news paper. It will help create a real civic national culture. I would've expected the Nats to make more noise about thecreation of a national infrastructure.

Brysur, Busy, Brysur - resymau dros fy nawelwch

My reasons for being quiet lately: -

• Dim cyswllt band llydan 'da fi cartref ar hyn o bryd
• Tri traethawd 'da fi i'w sgwennu erbyn Pasg ar gyfer y radd allanol Aberystwyth
• Genedigaeth fy mab ieiaf, sef Rhydian Ianto, diwedd mis Chwefror a felly dim cwsg.

that's No braodband at home, 3 essays to write for my external degree course with Aberystwyth (a bit like the open university in Welsh but with more academic Kudos), and the birth of my youngest son Rhydian Ianto at the end of February, so i don't sleep much.

Offlein am y Nadolig Mae'n debyg.

I'm probably going to be offline till the new Year. so

NADOLIG LLAWEN A
BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA

Cynllwyn Atomig. Nuclear Plot

I started to think Nuclear Power might be ok after all, untill I read Colin Challen MP 's article in today's Tribune. The industry is mendacious and manipulative so I no longer trust so called "rational" arguments in it's favour.
(english post continues below)

Mae dadl Colin yn seiliedig ar Hysbyseb sy'n dangos llun ffug i brofi pa mor hawdd a llwyddiannus yw digymisiynugorsafoedd ynni atomig. Dyma crynodeb ei gwyn am yr orsaf Berkeley i'r Asiantiaeth Safonau Hysbysebu:

"the ASA are now saying that a fake picture – which after all can speak a
thousand words – is OK...It seems there are lower standards here than there
are
on what you show on a can of tuna fish"

Hyd at hyn mae'n debyg ti wedi clywed yr hanes. Ond Mae'n lot waeth na hynny. Ymddengys taw'r Asiantaith Safonau Hysbysebu wedi Cytuno manylion y hysbyseb o flaen llaw. Ond dwedon nhw ddim hynny pan derbynion nhw'r cwynion. Gwastraff o amser oedd mynd i'r asiantaeth. Gwastraff o amser oedd yr Ymchwil Ffug ar y Lluniau Ffug.

Dyw Cynllwyn ddim yn air rhy gadarn am y digwyddiadau.


Colin's argument is based on an advertisment using fake pictures to show how easily and succesfully Nuclear Power stations can be de-commissioned. Here's a synopsis of his argument about Berkeley Power Station to the Advertising Standards Agency:

"the ASA are now saying that a fake picture – which after all can speak a
thousand words – is OK...It seems there are lower standards here than there are
on what you show on a can of tuna fish"

So far it's likely that you've heard the story. But it gets alot worse. It appears that the ASA had pre-agreed the contents of the ad, but they did not say this when the complaints were made. It was a waste of time going to the standards agency, and a waste of time to do a fake enquiry into the fake pictures.

Conspiracy is not too harsh a word for what happened.

Social Experiment or Entertainment?

Popeth yn Gymraeg or "everything in Welsh" is a new programme where Ifor ap Glyn travels Wales as a monoglot Welsh speaker, pretending not to speak English. It's funny but also informative. I especcially like the conversations where an English Speaker obviously understands far more Welsh than s/he is aware of. This is from Ifor's Blog:

-‘Are you going back to your van?’
- ‘Sori?’- ‘I saw you earlier.’
- ‘Dwi'm yn meddwl’
- ‘Can I ask you one question then?’
- ‘Iawn.’
- ‘You know presenters, when they're filming, do they put on a false
personality, or is that how they really are?’

Nic Dafis has blogged bi-lingually about this. I agree with him that the "Welshless" Welsh should watch this programme and that it needs to be re-broadcast in a format they can easily follow. If more Welsh (and English) people were to watch this they would realise what it is like to be treated as a Foreigner in your own country - a daily experience for Welsh speakers. This would put an end to the Paranoid fantasies of people who follow the paranoid fantasist example of the late George Thomas who seemed to believe that if we so much as mention Devolution and positive promotion of the Welsh Language, hoards of uncircumcised philistine Gogs (southern slang word for Welsh speaking northerners) will decend on the Valleys and M4 corridor to force every welshman, at spear-point, to speak only Welsh.

However Nic is wrong to beieve Welsh speakers are all hunkydory. A tragic aspect of welsh society is the tendency of Welsh-speakers to switch to English when a learner doesn't quiet understand their dialect or turn of phrase. I have been banging on for years that S4C should help to educate Welsh speakers to simplify their Welsh for learners, not huff and take pity on the "poor dab" and turn to English out of misplaced courtesy. Ifor's programme is a long awaited answer to these calls.

Dwi'n rhy brysur i dweud hyn oll yn Gymraeg rwy'n ofni. Sori am y diffyg cyfieithu.

Welsh Blogs Take Off!

Aran's Blogiadur which aggragates all blogs entirely written in welsh is having problems. So many Welsh blogs now exist that the server can't take it and Aran is going to pay for more Bandwidth.

Does Prawf nagoes? - In Denial

Dwi ddim yn credu bod David Irving yn y Carchar.
Can anyone prove that David Irving is in Jail in Austria?

Tribune Group of Labour MP's

A big CROESO! to the Tribune group of Labour Mp's. As far as I can tell No-one else has blogged about this; probably because of a dearth of internet activity or news on the topic.

I link to the Campaign Group in my side bar. Though I'm a supporter of the group I'm a bit sceptical of the "right on" eighties style of socialism. But we ain't got nothin better at the moment so "Red Ken for President !" it is. I, for one, hope that the renewed "New" Tribune group will be the antibiotic against "New" Labour.

Any plans for a website boys and girls? it could only help in this day and age - a blog would do if you're low on funds.

Citizenship Test

I just passed the new uk citizenship test. Gramarians will note that I used 2 meanings of just; I did it two minutes ago and nearly failed. If my three guesses had been different, and I was not bornandbread here I would be on my way Back to whatever hell hole I was trying to escape from.
(english continues at bottom of post)

Mae Al-Jazeerah gan erthygl syml am y prawf yma, sy'n atgoffa Cymro o "Frad y Llyfrau Gleision". Roedd y Cymry'n teimlo rhaid iddyn nhw sefyll prawf eu Prydeindod (diolch Nic am hynny) yn ystod y bedwaredd Ganrif ar Bymtheg.
Dwedodd Nic "Mae llywodraeth Prydain wedi datgan yr wythnos yma, mwy neu lai, y bydd mewnfudwyr sy’n gwrthod dysgu Saesneg (neu’r “British language” mewn un fersiwn dorgalonus o eironig) yn cael eu trin fel dinasyddion ail-radd." a bod hynny'n adlewyrchu'r sefyllfa lle "Mae pob siaradwr Cymraeg yn gallu siarad Saesneg (i ryw raddau) achos nad oes ganddo/ganddi’r hawl sylfaenol i fyw eu bywyd yn eu hiaith eu hunain yn eu gwlad eu hunain."

Sydd imi yn gnewyllyn y fater. Mae rhaid i bobl sy'n byw mewn Gwlad cymryd rhan ym Mhywyd y Wlad. Mae rhaid felly i fewnfydwyr dysgu'r Iaith eu Bro. Ond pryd mae Cymuned yn dweud pethau debyg, fe Alwyd "hilgwn" arnyn nhw am y rheswm bod "hawl" gan Brydeinwyr gwrthod siarad ieithoedd eraill. Er mwyn cydbwysedd mae rhaid mynnu bod y sawl sy'n mewnfudo i'r Fro Gymraeg, Ardaloedd Gaeleg ayyb ac yn Gwrthod cymryd rhan yn y cymdeithas ac yn gwrthod Saesneg ar y brodorion yn ymddwyn fel Coloneiddiwyr. Dyw Aelodau Llafur ddim yn hoffi clywed y gair hyn yn cael ei defnyddio am Brydeinwyr sy'n byw ym Mhrydain, ond mewn gwlad aml-ddiwylliannol does dim osgoi Cywirdeb safbwynt Cymuned

Al-Jazeerah has a simple article about this which reminds a Welshman of "The Treacheray of the Blue Books". (1847 education report that blamed Welshpeakers' lack of English for the poverty ignorance and therefore social unrest and alleged immorality.) As a result of Which the Welsh felt they needed to prove their Britishness. As Nic has reminded me, "The British Government has more or less stated that Immigrants who refuse to learn English (or "British Language" in one heartbreakingly Ironic version) are treated as second class citizens), and that this reflects the situation whereby "every Welsh Speaker (more or less) speaks English because s/he has no basic rights to live their lives through the medium of their own language in their own country."

This to me is the grain of the mater. Everyone, of course, who lives in a country must play their part in the life of that country. Immigrants/incommers/ migrants (whichever name you consider to be polite) must therefore learn the language of the area in which they live. But when Cymuned say similar things they are branded as Racists, since Britons have the fundamental right to refuse to learn non-English Languages. For the sake of balance we must insist that those who re-locate to Welsh speaking Wales, Gaelic areas etc, who refuse to learn the languages and who refuse to take a full part in the life of those communities are behaving as Colonizers. Labour members don't like to use that word about Britons living in Britain, but in a truly Multi-Cultural country we cannot deny the truth behind Cymuned 's position.






Prydeindod

Most of the English (and Scots) are Welsh

Seperatist Nationalists love to talk about Saxon ethnic cleansing of the British isles. But the truth is far more fascinating.
Mae map yma o Wales ger Rotherham yn dangos y modd wnaeth yr hen Gymru (brythoniaid) yn goroesi dyfodiad y Saeson yn sawl achos. Galwyd Wales ar y pentref hwn am yr un rheswm y mae Cymru. "Pobl estron" ydy ystyr Wales yn yr hen Saesoneg. Mae enwau lleoedd megis Wales ger Rotherham, Walcot (tai'r pobl estron) ac yn y blaen yn dangos taw cymhathu wnaeth y Frythoniaid yn hytrach na chael eu lladd. Eglwys ydy Eccles, Cambria ydy Cumbria, YStrad Clud ydy Strathclyde, Glas Coed ydy Glasgow....ac ati.
Mae hanes yr ynysoedd yma'n llawn goresgyniad gan Pendefigion milwrol yn disodli Elitau gwreiddiol a symudiadau poblogaeth heddychlon hefyd. Cenedl Cymysgryw gwir.

This map shows how the old Welsh (Britons) survived the arrival of Saxons Jutes and Angles. The village is called Wales for the Same reason my country has that name. Wales means "foreign" in Anglo Saxon. Place names like Wales near Rotherham, Walcott (houses of the foreigners) etc show that the Britons were assimilated rather than ethnically cleansed. Eccles is "Eglwys" (churchin Welsh), Cumbria is "Cambria", Strathclyde is "Ystrad Clud", Glasgow is "Glas Coed" (green wood)...etc.
These islands have a History of Invasion by Aristocratic Warrior classes which diplace indiginous Elites, and more peacefull population movements too. We really are a Mongrel Nation.

Reasons to stay with Labour

I found this excellent article by Paul Flynn MP. (english continues after the Welsh)
Hen ddadl yw e ond yn fwyfwy berthnasol fel y mae Cymuned yn ein atgoffa ni, taw prisiau Tai yn warthus o ddrud ac yn dinistrio cymunedau. Aelod Cymuned ydw i o hyd (yn dechnegol) er fy mod i'n fwyfwy anghyforddus a'r tueddiadau Cenedlaetholgar yn y fudiad. Dwi'n dechrau cyd-weld a'r angen arnom am integreiddio yn hytrach na Gymhathu - wnes i boeni ddim am y gysyniad ideolegol yma i ddechrau, roedd cefnogi'r ymgyrch dros tai ffordadwy a dros Haliau Iaith yn rhy bwysig yn o^l yn 2001.

Beth Bynag ein barn am Tony a'i Gronis, hyd y mae Pobl fel Paul Flynn yn gallu aros o fewn Lafur mae'n beth dda inni aros hefyd er mwyn i'w helpu nhw.

It's an old argument but increasingly relevant, as CYMUNED remind us, Housing costs are shamefully expensive and are destroying communities. I'm (technically) still a member of Cymuned though I'm getting more and more uncomfortable with the Nationalistic tendencies within the movement. I'm starting to agree with the idea that we need to"integrate" people rather than assimilate them. I didn't worry about this ideological point back in 2001 - the campaign for affordable housing and language rights was too important.

Whatever we think of Tony and his Cronies, as long as people like Paul Flynn are willing to fight the good fight, we need to stay in and support them

arbrofi

Costa del Caithness

More bad news for sustainable communities.

Catherine Macleod writes eloquently in Tribune today about the attempts of the Scottish parliament to undo Victorian legislation that protects the Crofting Way of Life. I agree with her

Mae tyddyniaeth yn bodoli fel modd cadw cymunedau yn fyw ac yn dda i'r amgylchedd. Ond mae aelodau canol dosbarth yn senedd yr Alban yn amlwg eisiau prynu tai haf ger y lli. Fydd Llew Smith yn gweiddi "hilgwn" ar albanwyr sy'n moyn cadw eu ffordd o fyw yn fuan? Sut mor hir cyn Sioned Stryd Porthor yn dechrau sgrechian am Hilgwn sinsir mewn tartan yn hela eu da dros y byrynoedd am geiniog?

Crofting has existed as a means of keeping communities alive and of protecting the environment. But obviously the middle class members of the Scottish Parliament have their eyes on some nice holiday homes on the coast. Will Llew Smith be calling the Scots who want to protect their way of life racists? How long will Janet Street Porter take to start screaming about Ginger Tartanclad Racists chasing their livestock over the hills for a shilling?

Paucity of Welsh Political Discourse

Their are signs that David Taylor has learnt some lessons, and has stopped misusing the word "Racism". I would agree with his assesment that petty minded bigotted chauvinisitic nationalism is at the root of Plaid Cymru Councillor Alan Speake's complaints about "English Oglers".

However Speake's comments probably have some resonance with people in his constituency. There have been accusations in the past that a number of English Councils (maybe this is true in Scotland Ulster and Wales) "facilitate relocation", of people on their housing waiting lists, to Welsh towns and villages. Housing waiting lists these days are comprised of those who have the "greatest need" - this of course means "problems". The lack of social housing in people's own communities is leading to isolation and so social exclusion and so increased anti-social behaviour. But it is nonsense to blame anti-social behaviour on people who only speak english - Caernarfon has thugs that prefer Welsh (that's not a disparagemement of Cofis in general gyda llaw, ia cont! ;-) )

Councilor Bob Piper's Blog has a link to councillor Zoe Hopkin's blog, where we see how dimwitted housing policy can be.

I agree with Plaid Cymru members who complain that too many English migrants to Welsh speaking districts have a contemptous attitude towards our Culture and way of life (ie daring to speak our own language in our own culture). However I part company with anyone who uses reductive argumements that use xenophobic attitudes to Party advantage.
How can those of us who respect Welsh speaking culture fight against the Bigotry of some Labour Members when Plaid Cymru members keep making stupid comments like the one above.

The housing Problem is a BRITISH problem. By seeking to make it a partisan SEPERATIST NATIONALIST issue, the likes of Alan Speake destroy the posibility of cross party consensus.

Sign the pledge!

Dwi wedi arwyddo y gwystl hwn.
I've signed the make labOUR party pledge. Though I already know why party membership is in free-fall - its DEMOCRACY DEMOCRACY DEMOCRACY stupid! I never joined the party as a youngster because of Hidebound Ideology, block votes and Resolutionary Politics, I didn't join under Kinnock because of his Centralist British Nationalism.

All Labour members who believe in democracy must join us in this campaign. If we don't ensure that Politics is about a real public discourse about ideas and policies, it becomes nothing more than an ugly scrabble for personal power, influence, patronage and wealth. Joining Labour used to be about wanting to change the world for the sake of the workers. It's becoming a career choice for ambitious, soul-less yuppies.

I joined when John Smith led the party to one member one vote, devolution, and a common sense approach. The Blairites are trampling this legacy underfoot. They have reintroduced Militant's bullying tactics, they are totally centralist in deeds if not rhetoric, and worst of all they parachute their own placemen into "awkward" constituencies far more efficiently than any Union leftist block voting.

Blogistan

Fatha Blogiadur yw Blogistan, neu debyg i BlogCymru. Sef ymgasgliad o bostiau "Cymhedrol" (nid yw'r Moslemiaid yn hoffi rhoi derfyn ar eu ffydd) gan Foslemiaid.
"Moderate" Islam is represented by Blogistan though few Moslems will accept that their faith can be limited by the word "Moderate". One either is or is not a Moslem. It puts Blogs by Moslems together in a similar way to the BlogCymru site which agregates Welsh based Englishlanguage/bilingual Blogs, or Blogiadur which agregates Blogs entirely in Welsh.

Gwyliau Tadolaeth

Daily Mail readers have an interesting cross section of viewpoints....sorry I'll rephrase that.

There is an interesting cross section of viewpoints on the comments page of the Daily Mail regarding the proposed new rules for parternity leave.
(english continues below)

Fy ffefryn i ydy'r dyn sy'n byw yn Ffrainc ac (wedi darllen y Daily Mail yn amlwg)yn credu y mae pob teulu Prydeinig yn deulu un rhiant.

O blaid yn syniad yn llwyr ydw i. Yn arbennig tasai'r rheolau newydd yn dod i mewn yn fuan, gan fydd Cymro newydd yn nhy^'r Cestyll erbyn diwedd Mis Mawrth. Ie dyn ni'n disgwyl. Wel mae Julie yn disgwyl. Ymddiried mewn dyn i gymryd y diolchiadau!

My favourite is the French resident who (after reading the Mail) is convinced that all British families are single parent ones anyway so doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

But since we're expecting (trust a man to say WE here) I am a bit biased.

Blog un Pwnc?

I've been a bit too much of a "single issue" blog since starting here. Welsh language rights are obviously one of my hobby-horses, but that is because I see the issue as a barometer for Labour successes and weaknesses in Wales
(English article continues after this message from our sponsor)

Mae erthygl Dewi Prysor yn enghraifft o hynny. Mae'n debyg na fyddai Dewi'n cael ei ystyried o ddifri y tu fas o gylchoedd Cenedlaetholgar o achos y modd y cafodd ei gysylltu a'r Free Wales Army a'u hymgyrch treisiol. Ond mae fe'n gwneud pwyntiau da iawn sydd yr un mor berthnasol y tu fas o'r Fro Gymraeg a thu fas o Gymru. Mae'n dangos sut y mae marchnad "skewed" yn difetha hawliau Tai trigolion yr ardal wedi'r Landlords yn gwerthu tai i bobl o'r tu fas.

Pan dechreuodd Cymuned ymoswyd arnynt am "hiliaeth" er mwyn ymosod ar genedlaetholdeb. Nonsens llywr yw hyn. Er gwaethaf y siofinistiaeth gul sy'n perthyn i sawl aelod y fudiad genedlaetholgar nid yw hynny yn gyfartal a hiliaeth a chasineb at leiafrifoedd. Mae gwrthseisnigrwydd yn ddiflasu dyn, ond mae'n dod mas o broblemau go-iawn Cymry.


Dewi Prysor's article Is a good example of this. It's likely that Dewi will not be taken seriously outside of Nationalist circles because of the way he was linked (unjusltly)to the Free Wales Army ANd their violent campains. But he makes important points which are just as relevent beoynd welsh speaking Wales. He shows how a skewed housing market destroys the rights of local residents when Landlords sell to people from outside the area.

When Cymuned started their campaign, they were attacked for "racism" in order to attack Nationalism. That is nonsense. Despite the narrow chauvinism of some Nationalists, this is not in the same league as RAcism and Hatred towards Minorities.
Anti-English attitudes are distateful but they come out of real problems faced by Welsh people.

No Right to speak Welsh?

David Taylor the author of Natwatch and researcher to Leighton Andrews , accuses Welsh speakers of racism. If he still believes this he must show it to be true. Let's look at the evidence he gives:

1
People walked out of a talk at last year's eisteddfod because the "language rule" was being broken.
Whilst I think they were wrong under the circumstances, they have a point. The Welsh language is largely ignored and devalued in Wales. (our own Labour Party can't even live up to Iaith Pawb and give us a Welsh Website - excuse? -not enough money!
too many inept researchers and spin quacks to pay obviously).

2
Children are given litter duty in Glantaf for speaking English and this is as bad as beating children (in living memory) for speaking Welsh in school.
That may sound bad to an outsider, but why should a child be allowed to deny the rights of his/her fellows to be educated in a Welsh speaking environment. Children who use English in Welsh schools are effectivley BULLYING those who want to speak Welsh.
An equivelent activity would be to preach Atheism from a soapbox in the Yard of a Catholic School.

We in the Labour Party have to get a grip on this serious issue of the Welsh Language Rights. Buffoons like David Taylor must be shown for the intolerant fools that they really are. No ammount of "Positivity" from Leighton Andrews, Alan Pugh etc. can undo the Visceral Hatred towards Welsh as a Communal and Public Language that exists in sections of our Party.

Even Rhodri Morgan, despite his late found enthusiasm for "things Welsh", and despite being a Welsh speaker from a highly cultured welsh speaking background, denied his children their right to be brought up as Welsh speakers.

The Welsh Language is not a "Handy Job Skill", it is a barometer of success for our alleged Multiculturism, and our success in building and maintaining sustainable communities.

Afresymol Crefydd

Mae pobl ofergoelus yn wastad yn edrych am "Brawf" o'u crefyddau. Mae engrhaifft gwych yn y Times (diolch i Leighton Andrews am y ddolen), lle mae nhw'n son am "enynau crefyddol".

Mae'n son am enynnau crefyddol gan fod bodion dynol yn debyg i dueddu goroesi os ydynt yn credu mewn "rwpeth uchod" - bolycs! Gwrthod gweld esboniadau eraill yw hyn fel mae gwefan logical fallacies yn esbonio.

Enghreifftiau -

1 Mae Dogfael yn cael ei amgylchu gan Braidd o Lewod, mae fe'n gweddio i'w dduw wrth rhedeg a neidio'n wyllt i'w osgoi. Se'n credu yn llwyr wedyn taw gwyrth oedd ei ddianc.

2 Mae Bratiaith yn cael ei amgylchu gan Braidd o Lewod, mae fe'n meddwl ei fod e'n ry bwysig i farw fel hyn wrth rhedeg a neidio'n wyllt i'w osgoi. Se'n credu yn llwyr wedyn taw gwyrth oedd ei ddianc.

Nid Genyn Crefyddol yw'r Genyn - Genyn Afresymoldeb yw e!

Credwch y Pab!

Mae'r Beibl yn llawn celwyddau - credwch y Pab; pe credech chi ddim fi.

Gwynedd Imperialism

Whilst I consider Llew Smith and his "peoples republic of the valleys" butties (please note Labour MP Paul Flynn's excellent interjection if you folllow that link) to be paranoid Unionists; sometimes you can't help but understand where their fantasies come from.

Just incase anyone thinks I'm going Nat with all the anti-natwatch stuff, this is a message I left on the British Nats Watch blog:

"[when I attack Welsh Nationalism as xenophobic and insular...]I oppose British Nationalism too. There is xenophobia and a metropolitan form of insularity within New Labour against the Welsh, Scots, Brummies, WestCountrymen, Northerners etc. My point is that the debate is carried on by a series of accusations counter-acusations and name-calling.
If Plaid Cymru was serious about Nation-Building instead of "Gwynedd Imperialism" they could do much to further Welsh Democracy and help get a Real Parliament. But their "no compromise on idependence stance" (which has been our Nation's bug-bear since the days of the Llywelyns.) just makes it nigh on impossible for people like me to persuade my Non-Welshspeaking Devolution-sceptic freinds.
Natwatch crossed the lines of Decency Honesty and Taste, but much of what he wrote had a real point to it. His "New Banner for Plaid" competion winner was spot on. "

Talwrn y Siwmperau

This is a bad taste jumpers when we were younger competition


Roedd y ffliw arnaf fi yn 1985.
Mae fy siwmper fi yn Waeth na siwmper Nic