Dewi – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

The Western Mail reverts to an old old type…

Dewi on May 22, 2012, 9:19 pm

| Readers 54

The Western Mail, Wales’s National Newspaper, has lost the plot. A front page editorial states: AN EXTRAORDINARY recommendation has been made by eight AMs that would see up to £400,000-a-year spent on translating the written record of every meeting held at the National Assembly into Welsh. We say that at a time when budgets are squeezed and public services are being cut, this is a luxury we cannot afford And: We fully support the right of AMs and others to …

Fisk reminisces.

Dewi on May 21, 2012, 10:25 pm

| Readers 50

From the Independent: You can check in any time you want – but you can never leave.: On the Europa Hotel’s message pads, my handwriting records “2 sold VSI RVH” (two soldiers very seriously ill Royal Victoria Hospital), “bomb in SR and VS St” (Sandy Row and Great Victoria Street railway station), “son of judge shot dead”, “policeman ser ill”, “2 Provos arrest, staff officers in 1st Batt, F co”, Europa office bill for 22 May/10 June ’73, £145, day …

Scotland – choose your narrative.

Dewi on May 8, 2012, 9:29 pm

| Readers 58

Gerry Hassan just gets better: Rupert Murdoch, the Referendum and Rangers FC: Self-government has to be a democratising process and project, or it will produce a change in name only which won’t affect the lives and experiences of Scottish people. That entails nourishing a culture which is both honest and humble, respecting different viewpoints and challenging vested interests. This is an intricate balancing act, one which involves changing the public culture of Scotland, and aiding an ecology of self-government and self-determination …

The red tide returns – Labour win big in Wales.

Dewi on May 5, 2012, 11:31 am

| Readers 55

Labour won 10 of the 21 councils contested in Wales (there are a few issues on Anglesey delaying elections there until next year). Here’s the detail from the BBC. Labour gained 231 seats to get to 576. All other major parties lost. Plaid lost 41 to fall to 158 seats, Tories fell 61 to 105 and the poor Lib Dems are down 66 to 71 seats. On a technical point we don’t use PR and much of urban Wales has …

“Pa bryd y cawn fyned i Seion” – the forgotten history of Welsh Mormonism

Dewi on April 29, 2012, 12:25 pm

| Readers 976

It’s a fairly remarkable fact that the place outside these islands with the largest percentage population of Welsh descent isn’t Scranton (from the Western Mail), Gaiman (From the Argentina Independent), or the Welsh Tract of Pennsylvania (from Wiki). The winner is Malad City in Idaho. The link is to this year’s Malad Valley Welsh Festival. Here’s Malad City’s Wiki with an explanation: Malad began largely as a Welsh Mormon settlement whose settlers brought their Welsh traditions with them. In addition to the Mormon majority, some of …

Six Nations – yet another boring Welsh Grand Slam?

Dewi on March 15, 2012, 10:03 pm

| Readers 627

Ok – I have people staying over for the weekend so forgive me for a post on Thursday. Sam’s back for Wales.. (from the Independent) Whatever. – that’s from Le Monde with the Google Translate here. I don’t think Rougerie is a centre. How many points are Ireland going to beat these idiots by? Foden want’s something special. – Please give him something special. In the prediction contest Reader leads by 3 – however he’s gone for a French win at Cardiff …

Plaid’s new leader – a Rhondda woman.

Dewi on March 15, 2012, 4:56 pm

| Readers 584

This is a big deal. Leanne Wood is the new Plaid Cymru leader. (From the BBC). A pretty convincing victory: First preferences: Leanne 2,879 Elin Jones 1,884 Dafydd El 1,278 Leanne almost won on the first vote and after transfers won a convincing victory. A few things: 1) The first non first Welsh language leader in our history. 2) The first leader from the South Wales valleys. 3) Our first female leader. Llongyfarchiadau a phob lwc Leanne. DewiWelsh Nationalist. …

Six Nations – Another boring weekend.

Dewi on March 10, 2012, 7:22 am

| Readers 37

OK – in the prediction contest we have two joint leaders, Johnny Boy and Reader. Neither have gone for Tommy Bowe as top try scorer so it’s still very open. Today it’s Wales v Italy and Ireland v Scotland. Tomorrow England travel to Paris. In the Western Mail Michael Owen hails the best Welsh team he has ever seen. I agree – we just need to click- could be today. Is International Rugby good for Andy Robinson’s health? …he likes …

Elliott off – what next for the UUP?

Dewi on March 8, 2012, 8:25 pm

| Readers 44

Tom Elliott has obviously had enough. (from UTV) Mr Elliott has said he will not seek re-election to the position at the annual general meeting, in just over three weeks time. In a statement outlining his decision and the reasons behind it, he said some “obstruction and hostility” began immediately following his election as leader and has been “relentless” since then. The party’s AGM is scheduled to take place on Saturday 31 March. “It has been a great privilege for …

SIx Nations – Let’s try this again…

Dewi on March 4, 2012, 10:18 am

| Readers 41

A miracle or a massacre? – From the Irish Independent: Le massacre du printemps, incidentally, was a headline from L’Equipe on the morning of the 1992 fixture in the old Parc des Princes, where Ireland managed never to win — against France or Argentina. Philippe Saint-Andre was on the wing that day when the home team romped home 44-12. For optimum effect we fiddle around with the stats from Ireland’s record in Paris, but the one that best illustrates the …

Romney,,,,yet another comeback.

Dewi on February 29, 2012, 8:16 am

| Readers 40

It hasn’t been an entirely convincing process but Mitt Romney’s wins in home state Michigan and in Arizona have certainly dented the momentum of the the latest upstart, Rick Santorum. The New York Times has the numbers and observes: His victory over Mr. Santorum here in Michigan was far from commanding, but it was most likely sufficient to dampen the rising clamor from across the Republican Party about his ability to win over conservatives and connect with voters. The tussle …

Scotland – Ascherson still not decided on independence…

Dewi on February 28, 2012, 10:31 pm

| Readers 85

Always liked the bloke – but at 79 years old I thought he might have made his mind up….. From the New York Times. Even larger questions would loom. Would there still be a place called “Britain”? Would Scottish independence finally force the English to rediscover their own national voice, instead of hiding their problems under the cloak of “Britishness”? Would a reduced “England” still rate a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council? It may not happen. The …

Six Nations – Weekend 3

Dewi on February 25, 2012, 6:33 am

| Readers 47

It’s time to start building a fortress. From the Irish Times: WHEN IRELAND first returned to Lansdowne Road in the autumn of 2010, Brian O’Driscoll spoke for all when declaring Ireland’s need to make the Aviva a fortress. Alas, not helped by the IRFU’s ticketing fiasco, as fortresses go it’s been more akin to the Maginot Line, which the Germans stormed in about a day. Should be comfortable – Italy can be awkward – but in areas where Ireland are …

Six Nations: Paris in the Spring – A day for heroes…or a cold night in hell?

Dewi on February 11, 2012, 7:25 am

| Readers 58

Well, late winter really but that ain’t quite got it..from the Irish Times – it’s minus nine degrees: At least les bleus won’t be playing with the sun on their backs in springtime. Otherwise, this one doesn’t look too promising. Not only do France have a hex on Ireland like no one else, nowhere does this apply more than the French capital. Ireland have won just once in their last 20 visits, and les bleus have also won 11 of …

GOP Primaries – the plot thickens with a clean sweep for Santorum.

Dewi on February 8, 2012, 5:47 am

| Readers 51

Romney isn’t closing this out. Yesterday saw a primary in Missouri (well a non binding beauty contest really) and two caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota. From RealClearPolitics: Santorum has taken Minnesota and Missouri comfortably. Romney was banking on Colorado. Here Nate compares his 2008 and 2012 performances. Broadly he’s at 60% of his 2008 level and things are looking close there. Fox News is reporting Colorado in real time. At 5.30am our time, with 46% of precincts reporting Santorum and Romney …

Six Nations – wide open.

Dewi on February 3, 2012, 2:55 am

| Readers 49

This weekend sees the start of the most unpredictable Six Nations for a while. (There’s still time to make your predictions here). Are those Polish freezers still working for Wales? (BBC) Keith Earls has some pretty big boots to fill….(Belfast Telegraph) If you were Mr Lancaster would you like to start things anew at a freezing hostile Murrayfield…..? From the Record Andy Robinson is pressing the right buttons. Of England’s World Cup: What surprises me about England is they fell into a …

Florida – All Over?

Dewi on February 1, 2012, 12:23 am

| Readers 42

It looks that way. From Fox News – looks like a landslide for Romney. But can Romney beat Obama? Piles of stuff to read on RealClearPolitics…make up your own mind. DewiWelsh Nationalist. Rugby Fan. Know a bit about History and Railways…

Six Nations 2012 Prediction Contest

Dewi on January 28, 2012, 9:22 am

| Readers 40

Ok – it’s that time of the year. Same rules as usual which are: 1 point for a correct home win, 3 points for a correct away win, 7 points for a correct draw. This year we need the top try scorer. 3 points if it’s one bloke, 2 if it’s joint, 1 if it’s shared by three. Any more than 3 top try scores it’s nowt. Tie breaker is total points scored. Here’s the fixtures: 1 France v Italy …

Paxman: the gowk goes over the top.

Dewi on January 25, 2012, 7:14 am

| Readers 65

Playing the man I know but needs saying: Not Newsnight’s finest hour. After a twee introduction from a whisky sampling reporter then came Paxman’s interview with the Times’s Briton of the year. You can see some of it here. Zimbabwe, Mugabe, One party State?? Opting out of the BBC? the cheek of it all. Some of us might have been interested in what Alex had to say in the Hugo Young Lecture. (Worth watching the that sample video from the …

Romney newtered in South Carolina…

Dewi on January 22, 2012, 9:19 am

| Readers 35

A comfortable win for Gingrich in South Carolina as the BBC reports. The scale of the win (40-28) must be of particular concern to Romney. RealClearPolitics is particularly damning with it’s three takeaways from SC. 1) There is no good news buried in here for Mitt Romney …2) This is worse than George W. Bush’s loss to John McCain in New Hampshire. John McCain caught Bush off-guard in 2000, but Bush was given an opportunity to regroup. He hadn’t fired any major …