"Targeted for telling the truth"

A blogger who was targeted in a co-ordinated attack against websites such as Facebook and Twitter has told the BBC he blames Russia for the assault.

The pro-Georgian blogger, known as Cyxymu, said he had been targeted for "telling the truth about the Russian-Georgian war" in his writings.

The attack caused a blackout of Twitter for about two hours on Thursday.
Despite the blogger's claims, security researchers say there is "no suggestion the attack was state-endorsed".

Google, Facebook and blogging platform Live Journal - all sites where Cyxymu had accounts - were also affected.

"I write the truth about the Russian-Georgian war and somebody did not like these truths - these people in Russia," the blogger told BBC News. "I don't know which people," he added.

The blogger, real name Georgy, has posted videos and blogs which criticise Russia over its conduct in the war over the South Ossetia region, which began one year ago.

"It's a big surprise to me that my blog has meant that 250m people have not been able to enter Facebook," he said.

That time of year - Top 10 Political Blogs

Email your ten favourite blogs (ranked from 1-10) to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com

It's that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2009-10, which will be published in September. This year the poll is being promoted/sponsored by LabourList and LibDemVoice as well as this blog.

The rules are simple.

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).

2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.

3. You MUST include ten blogs. If you include fewer than ten your vote will not count.

4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com

5. Only vote once.

6. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics are eligible.

7. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name

8. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2009. Any votes received after that date will not count.

If you have your own blog, please do encourage your readers to take part. Last year, more than 80 blogs did so. We hope this year it will be far more than that. BUT, DO NOT list ten blogs you think your readers should vote for. Any duplicate voting of this nature will be disallowed. If you do not wish for your blog to be voted for please email katy.scholes@totalpolitics.com. Here's the code to add to your blog sidebar or blogpost to feature the grahic above with an automatic clickthru to the instruction page...

The results of the poll will be published in the forthcoming book the TOTAL POLITICS GUIDE TO POLITICAL BLOGGING IN THE UK which will be published in mid September in association with APCO Worldwide.

So, go to it. Email your Top Ten Favourite Blogs totoptenblogs@totalpolitics.com

In-tray Gossip

If I had been neglecting my partner and son over the last several weeks, I would have been keeping an eye on my in-tray instead of neglecting the sometimes overloaded thing.

I've heard a rumour that senior civil servants working close to Ministers in Cardiff Bay were allegedly given box tickets to Welsh home matches during this year's 6 Nations championship. At least 2 of them attended the Wales v England match this year courtesy of their ministerial masters. As my source has said, "Not a bad perk of the job".

Alegedly the Union are up-in-arms over this and believe that any spare tickets at the disposal of the Welsh Assembly Government should be raffled out among all staff of the Assembly Government, and not kept by those regarded as being down the bay. I wonder what Wales' Number 1 rugby fan thinks of this staff freebie?

On another matter our old friend Christopher Glamorganshire has reappeared. The latest rumour is that the Welsh Assembly Government is allegedly chasing him for legal costs circa £28k for being too ill to turn up to an employment tribunal. Rumour has it that the case is ongoing and will conclude in the next month or two. Betsan always seems to have the scoop on this, so I'm hoping she'll keep us posted.

I'll be dipping in and out of blogging from time to time, and won't be a complete stranger to blogging or my in-tray.

A possible return to blogging and keyword activity fun

All bloggers need to take a break from time to time. Have you noticed? I've enjoyed mine and will continue to do so until I feel the compulsive urge to get back into the swing of things and post on a regular basis again.

All main contributors haven't posted for a while by mutual agreement. This has left some thinking that the blog is dead to the world, including the shy and retiring Assembly types (Lol... not dead, but resting). However, there has been a lot of interest lately in one particular post thanks to a link from Betsan Powys of the BBC.

Like Betsan, I was disappointed to hear that Christopher Glamorgan had pulled out of the tribunal against the Welsh Ministers/Welsh Assembly Government. I'm sure he had his reasons, but I can't help thinking that we've missed something special and even I was hoping to attend the hearing as a member of the public. Christopher has yet to answer my email and concern for his case, but I'll keep you posted when I return. Remember Christopher, the offer still stands and I'm sure that Matt Wardman also supports my view on this.

I got slightly bored of blogging and if I'm honest, of Welsh politics, although ongoing fiascos and the reckless should inspire posting if I had the time. Family has always been important, and also making a success of business. After all, as a self-employed person no one else is going to support me - right??

Following the large number of hits to the one post, it got me curious about blog stats, so I decided to take a look for myself. Most interest on the Christopher Glamorgan post came from the Assembly itself which was to be expected, and from local government. A look at 'visitor paths' also made me realise how widely read Betsan's blog is in the UK, which was surprising considering the topic of Welsh politics. This must be testament to the blog being hosted by the BBC and Betsan's writing style.

Another blog stat that caught my attention was that of 'keyword activity' and the interesting, sometimes strange, and frankly bizarre search terms used. One slightly controversial search term was 'Tomos Livingstone bias' and made by someone in the office of HSO Trinity Mirror Group.

These are some of the Internet search terms used (in no particular order) which ended up with the inquiring minds clicking on a link to this blog. Some are obvious. Some are amusing. Others are simply mind boggling.

1. Miss Wagstaff
2. Cardiff political issues
3. Pippa Wagstaff
4. One Wales Government
5. Gareth Hall Welsh Assembly Government
6. Leadership of Welsh political party
7. Mike German Jane Hutt affair
8. Biggest wastes of public money
9. Chocolate cheese Switzerland
10. Jolly roger
11. Office relationships
12. Welsh Labour communications officer
13. Jonathan Evans Julie Morgan
14. Cornock Steve Morgan campaign
15. Welsh Assembly Llandudno jobs
16. Swiss known for
17. Welsh civil servant
18. Paul Murphy sentenced Pontypridd
19. 32% of welsh women prefer to do after 18:00
20. Mistress Services Wales
21. Ellis, luke amss carwyn jones
22. Ellis, luke (amss carwyn jones)
23. Carwyn jones luke ellis
24. Carwyn jones luke ellis
25. Petite welsh woman 60
26. Matt Withers surfing
27. Civil service dress code uk foreign office
28. Cocks that don't fit
29. Top ten reasons to limit debate with a troll
30. Martyn Williams Miss Wagstaff
31. Welsh Labour Europe nonentity
32. Jane Wagstaff porn
33. Jane Hutt quote
34. Tomos Livingstone bias
35. Alun Davies AM blog
36. Human Resources email Welsh Assembly
37. Rhodri Morgan dress sense
38. Sacked civil servant
39. Facebook farce blog
40. Failing Welsh civil service

All I can say is keep blogging. At best, we all find it fun and informative, at its very worst... you can guess the rest.

Court frees Malaysian blogger

A Malaysian court has ordered the release of a prominent government critic free from detention on grounds that his arrest under a colonial-era security law was unlawful, local media and his lawyer have said.

Raja Petra Kamarudin, a high-profile political blogger, was detained in September for allegedly stoking racial tensions by publishing articles that the government said insulted Islam, inflamed racial tensions and tarnished the country's leadership.

But the high court in the state of Selangor ruled on Friday that the Malaysian home minister had acted beyond his powers in having the blogger arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA), Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, Raja Petra's lawyer, said.

He quoted Judge Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad as saying that the grounds given for Raja Petra's detention were insufficient and that his arrest under the ISA was unlawful.

"It's a historic ruling and definitely a wonderful step in terms of civil liberties in Malaysia," the lawyer said.

Some of Malaysia's most popular blogs offer stinging anti-government commentaries and present themselves as a substitute for mainstream media, which are controlled by political parties or closely linked to them.

According to government estimates, there are more than 700 Malaysians who blog on social and political issues.

[Pippa Wagstaff is currently on a blogging break]

Christopher Glamorganshire: The story so far (as seen on the blogs)

At the risk of upsetting the sensitive souls of those in power [in Wales anyway], I wondered what I could do next. Shall I talk further about a well-known catchphrase of all talk and little action or failures that have left Wales firms 'poor cousins'? The economy in crisis seems to be a popular topic for the foreseeable future and has been for some time. Not today.

Standing up for a blogging brother. This will do for now.
Following the original article in the Western Mail by Martin Shipton, 9th July 2008 there clearly has a lot more mileage to go in the story of Christopher Glamorganshire, with the latest from the real journalists being that of the BBC, Political Editor Betsan Powys on 18th September 2008.

Betsan clearly has the insider's view looking at the detail of information provided, but we still haven't heard from the Glamorganshire blogger despite numerous attempts from the media to get a message to him. Both Matt Wardman and I have been contacted over the last few months to see if we can get a message across [mediums in the blogging world], and I can only imagine that other bloggers have also been contacted this way. We both are unsure as to whether we are doing this former blogger the power of good by documenting his case in this way, nevertheless we support you, and the best of luck to you Christopher.

My sources in the Welsh power-hub tell me that the tribunal is set for January 2009 [not confirmed].

The following is a list of blog posts to date that cover discussion [those I can find] on the "neutral" blogger that was sacked by the Welsh Assembly Government:

1. One law for the rich, 9th July 2008 Socialist Party Wales
2. All the best Chris 9th July 2008, Miserable Old Fart
3. Chris Glamorgan goes to Court 9th July 2008 Valleys Mam
4. Welsh blogger's legal action 9th July 2008, Ordovicius
5. Freedom of Speech: Standing up for the right to blog 9th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
6. Christopher Glamorganshire: What a price to pay for freedom of speech 10th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
7. LITERATURE - Christopher Glamorgan's Blogging 10th July 2008 Damon Lord Linguanaut
8. Dooced Welsh Civil Service Blogger goes to Industrial Tribunal Today 11th July 2008 Wardman Wire
9. In Wales they sack bloggers, don't they? 11th July 2008, The Daily Telegraph Blogs
10. Welsh Civil Service Blogger goes to Industrial Tribunal Today 11th July 2008, Matt Wardman for Our Kingdom
11. Inside the Assembly jail 11th July 2008, Cambria Politico
12. On Exams, Christopher Glamorganshire and blogging 11th July 2008 On a Hill
13. Tidbits electronig 12th July 2008 Dancing the Polka with Miss El Cajon
14. What a price to pay 12th July 2008 Facebook Causes
15. Risk worth taking? 12 July 2008, David Jones MP
16. Welsh Assemby sacks blogger 12th July 2008 Paul Canning
17. Christopher Glamorganshire sacking story cut and paste Promotional Tour 13th July 2008 Wardman Wire
18. Civil servant who blogged about government dumped 13th July 2008, So Said the Organization
19. Seen Elsewhere (7) 13th July 2008, Question That
20. Blogpower Roundup - Ian_QT 13th July 2008, Blogpower
21. Should you be fired for blogging? 13th July 2008, Dube
22. Setback for public sector bloggers 13th July 2008 Dave Press
23. Christopher Glamorganshire: Questions to be Answered, 15th July 2008, Wardman Wire
24. Christopher Glamorganshire: Questions to be Answered 16th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
25. Previous Welsh bloggers who lost their jobs: This is a new ballgame 16th July 2008 Wardman Wire
26. Welsh Blogger Fired from Assembly, Sues 16 July 2008 Committee to Protect Bloggers
27. Previous Welsh bloggers who lost their jobs: This is a new ballgame 17th July 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
28. Matt Wardman on Radio Wales Good Evening Wales 4th August 2008, Wardman Wire
29. Blogging civil servants 4th August 2008, Peter Black AM
30. Matt Wardman on Radio Wales Good Evening Wales about Civil Service Bloggers 4th August 2008, Wardman Wire
31. POLITICS - Did I kill Pippa Wagstaff [includes section on CG]? 11th August 2008, Damon Lord
32. WAG and the Assembly Commission catching up with the times...eventually 12th September 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
33. Free speech, huge bills? 18th September 2008, Betsan Powys (BBC)
34. A Betsan by any other name would smell as sweet 18th September 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
35. Betsan has the inside on this one, 18th September 2008, Valleys Mam
36. Still Supporting Chris! 19th September 2008, Miserable Old Fart
37. The 'Welsh' Civil Service Code v Christopher Glamorganshire's Blog, 19th September 2008, Miss Wagstaff Presents
38. Christopher Glamorganshire Back in the News: Welsh Civil Service Code, 19th Sept 2008, Wardman Wire
39. This was Christopher Glamorgans profile - good sense of fun, 19th September 2008, Valleys Mam

Matt Wardman's entire series can be read HERE, and my own can be viewed HERE.

If you have seen any articles that are not on the list, please let us know in the comments section.

Anniversary

Today is my blogging anniversary or birthday

12 months
330 posts
368 labels

63,102 hits
2,556 Facebook friends before disablement
5 awards
3 bans

5 offers of coffee by the bay
2 threats of legal action

1 offer of dinner
1 offer of marriage

and countless cases of abuse and sexual harassment

Whoever said blogging is dull?

Short blogging break

Pippa Wagstaff is taking a short break to deal with a family issue. Posts have been drafted and will be published at set intervals until she returns.

Senedd Whip

The Benefits of Offline Blog Editors

This is a cross-post from the Wardman Wire, singing the praises of editing your blog offline, rather than using the Back Office of whatever blog application you use.

Offline blog editors are PC-based editors that allow blog posts to be written on a local PC and then uploaded as a separate operation. I was asked about the benefits

I've been using an offline Blog Editor called Blogdesk by Johannes Oppermann. I am very pleased with the software. This is only suitable for a PC, but there are other editors available, and I have a list at the bottom of the article. Here is what Blogdesk looks like: Click on the image for a full screenshot.

Offline Editor Benefits

These are the benefits of Blogdesk which I came up with. This is not exhaustive.

1. I do maybe 95% of my editing offline, and can then "squirt" a post in maybe 10 seconds, rather than having to pfaff with online delays (and I am on a relatively slow - 512kbps - link), and I get a good editor and decent image crop / resize / borders / align utility that is v. quick.


2. Responsiveness is massively better than any online editor.


3. The is no need to login to WordPress every time I do something.


4. I have maybe 25 different post templates some with WP Options and
   
   Custom fields set up as required etc, e.g., with all the different attribution links in for the different cartoonists each morning.


5. In my setup I run with 2 copies of WP (the "Magazine" and "Blog" views) - and things like videos have to be posted to each separately easily.


6. I have boilerplate phrases and paragraphs to hand.


7. There is no need to upload pictures and photos through the Wordpress online image library feature, which is slow.


8. I don't have problems with my connection going down or website response times while editing.


9. I also cross-post quite regularly - I can cross-post just by ticking off boxes next to each one.


10. I can get straight at the last 99 posts without needing to troll through the Wordpress Backoffice.


11. I can automatically upload sound files. I only use this feature for small files since I have a tight limit set on my server for "upload" size. I usually use ftp for media files.


12. I get a full display of categories rather than a little Window showing about 3.


13. I can disable the WYSIWIG editor in WordPress, which removes one past source of hacker attacks. Note that it is safer now, but on this subject it is useful to be slightly paranoid.


14. I can do Wordpress and Technorati Tags, and Customised Fields directly from my PC desktop.


15. I can go and write in a pub over a pint, or on a train without the risks of a mobile connection.


16. A boilerplate text storage area.


17. Configuration was a doddle. You need to know your blog configuration settings, and what a few terms mean - but that is about it.


18. There are decent support forums.


19. Blogdesk is free.


20. Blogdesk supports the blog systems WordPress, MovableType, Drupal, Serendipity and ExpressionEngine and does not support Blogger, which means that it helps get people away from Blogger !
    

A Wide Choice

There are a large number of desktop editors available, both free and paid. A recent post on Smashing Magazine gave summaries of 15, and there was a decent discussion in the comments.

These are the ones they list, which cover different platforms. They are all linked to their home websites in the article:

• Windows Live Writer (Windows)


• MarsEdit (Mac)


• BlogDesk (Windows)


• Zoundry Raven (Windows)


• Ecto (Mac)


• w.bloggar (Windows)


• Thingamablog (Window, Mac, Linux)


• Qumana (Windows, Mac)


• Scribefire (Firefox)


• BlogJet (Windows)


• Flock (Mac, Windows, Linux)


• Post2Blog (Windows)


• Bleezer (Mac, Windows, Linux)

This is the conclusion reached by Smashing:

If you have little experience in blogging you might try either Flock, Windows Live Writer or Scribefire. Those three have fairly intuitive interfaces and don’t have all the advanced features that more robust programs have. Also, they are free so you can check out what application better manages to cover your needs.

Advanced bloggers looking for a bit more firepower should try Ecto, BlogJet or BlogDesk. BlogDesk works especially well for bloggers who frequently use photos in their posts (Image Wizard). Windows Live Writer and Ecto have extra functionality built in, as they both allow you to install plugins to add specific features.

Every desktop blog editor is a great benefit to any blogger’s toolkit, as it saves time and has features that traditional blog platforms don’t always have.

How to Proceed

My recommendation is to try experimenting, while accepting that some people genuinely do not get on with offline editors. If you like it, the benefits can be significant.

Scribefire is worth a look if you do not like separate applications, as it is a plugin for the Firefox Web Browser.

You may need to experiment - I tried about 6 different editors before I settled on the one I like, so patience may help.

The frustrations of an internet Troll

It seems that I owe Sanddef an apology after jokingly not thanking him for the Miss Tory Staff comment. I have discovered the troll behind certain comments on my posts, which are not particularly damning and not even time consuming to delete. Any blogger will be able to tell you that it's very easy to delete comments when managing a blog.

The pointless 'Miss Tory Staff' comments that ended up - several times - in every post over the last few weeks seem to have stopped (more will come my way due to this post) which proves that the said blogger has realised his mistake. Strange to think that The Steamer has referred to me as "a well-known Labour insider". Each blogger has their own opinion of me, which leaves me none the wiser as to who I actually am. Someone will let me know one day.

Anyone who reads this blog will realise that I'm not in the habit of outing a person, but an anonymous blogger on the other hand is different due to the anonymity.

Perhaps it's because I always look for the best qualities in people that I often get disappointed so easily. In truth, I've always liked the nationalist blogger Che Grav-ara of the Guerrilla Welsh-Fare blog. For starters, we may have different political views, but I do enjoy reading his posts, and respect the fact that he includes links to a wide variety of political bloggers on his own blog (which is always a major plus in the blogosphere, and unusual of a Plaid blogger).

Any blogger is welcome to contribute in the comments section. I rarely delete comments, and if I do, I end up publishing them without the bad language and attribute them to their original owner.

Understandably, 'Che' finds it difficult that I tend to criticise the 'One Wales Government', after all, he is a "mainstream Plaidie; wants independence, has no time for New Labour, and backed the red-green when it came to it." Let's hope that he now practices what he preaches. Let's draw a line under this, 'Che', then hug, and make up.

What has been your best blogging experience?

It is always a good experience to have people comment on your blog and to start a active discussion. I have been lucky of late in that my post seem to have been getting a lot more attention. I am unsure if the content has become more thought provoking or just the hoards of bloggers that have nowhere else to go now Blamerbell has retired are choosing to spread their views around the blogs.

Do you have any prejudices that you are prepared to admit to?

What are they? Although my views are pretty fluid I do carry the stigma that all Tories are bad, all liberals say whatever you want them to just to get your vote and all Labourites are Tories. However I am happy to admit this is a generalist view and that there are a number of Tories (especially the Glyn Davies’ of this world) that contradicts that analysis and do the Conservatives a credit. Whilst they are decreasing there are still some dedicated old guard Labour members (i.e Hywel Francis) that go against the grain of Tony Blair’s spin era. The liberals……well you can’t win them all!

N.B. No bloggers were harmed during the making of this post. No slur caused by labelling someone a tory - on the person or the party. This blog has always been, and remains, non-aligned. Readers [particularly those of Labour and Plaid] should note that the blog description remains the same - as always - and can be read at the top of the page.

To Blog or Not To Blog Debate Videos

This is the full set of the speech videos kindly recorded by Peter Black.

The event itself provided the answer to the question in the title, when the agenda was partly changed due to "advanced feedback" after a debate on the blogs (especially here).

You can read my reflections, and also find a list of articles about the event, in my previous article about the "To Blog or Not to Blog" event.

Introduction

Part 1: Daran Hill, of Positif Politics (and the first bit of Peter Black).



Part 2: Peter Black, and the first part of Eleanor Burnham AM.



Part 3: The rest of Eleanor Burnham AM and Betsan Powys, BBC Reporter and Blogger.



Part 4: More Betsan Powys and the first part of Annabelle Harle of the Electoral Reform Society.



Part 5: More Annabelle Harle of the Electoral Reform Society, and the first part of Matt Wardman



Part 6: More Matt Wardman

and Victoria Winckler, of the Bevan Foundation.

7 Deadly Blogging Sins

According to Windows Live there are 7 Deadly Sins of the blogging world - a far cry from Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride! Of course, these deadly sins don't apply in the world of political blogging!

The humble blog has swept the internet world by storm. Think of it as your own online journal - a place to both store your thoughts and air your views.

1. Not blogging

There is no rule when to begin. Put simply, the more often you blog, the better you will become. One thing to remember - Blogging is a commitment, set aside some time each day. It is easier to get into blogging regularly than trying to pick it up after a dry spell.

2. Blog only when you have something to say

Too many posts are an instant turn-off for most people – this is the blogging equivalent of sending e-mail forwards. Everybody wants to have a lively blog; an absolute maximum should be 4 a day, no more! Nobody wants to fall into this trap.

3. Having a meaningless post title

People blog for one of two reasons; either they gain enjoyment from doing it or for some monetary, commercial purpose. In the case of the latter - in order to gain the most blog views, people insist on cramming their title with the most vague and nonsensical keywords. Codswallop I say! The same applies for writing purely for fun; don’t use boring and generic headlines, your title should encourage people to read - not send them to sleep.

4. Not leaving comments for your friends

Being tight with your comments won’t win you any friends; it may even alienate people from your blog. Blogging should be a lively medium and encourage communication. Don’t be a scrooge and leave your friends comments as appropriate.

5. Don’t delete your comments

Your friends have spent time reading your blog – to delete their comments is just plain rude. Don’t be put off by negative feedback; if you blog often and make great posts - any bad comments you receive will quickly be overshadowed.

6. Don’t strive for perfection

Perfectionism will hold you back and will turn the simple task of writing an entry seem like a chore! It is especially easy to fall into this trap early on. To be a successful blogger you must find your own voice - don’t force it, blog in the style that feels most comfortable to you.

7. Shameless self promotion

Nobody likes an attention seeker and this rule applies for online too! Don’t promote yourself at the expense of others - you shouldn’t have to force your blog down other blogger’s throats, this is the sign of a bad blog.

Senedd Circular w/b 20 Oct 2008: Opening Old Wounds

This article appears in The Wardman Wire:

This week, Miss Wagstaff has been excited and down in the dumps at the same time, if that’s at all possible. On the one hand, she’s unwell, and on the other she has the opportunity to write a Senedd Circular post that is long overdue.

We can safely put leadership elections on the back burner for a while, the Welsh Labour leadership election has been talked to death [well, nearly!] and the Welsh Liberal Democrat election is a two-horse race that is slowly gaining momentum – and both always seem to be topical on Welsh blogs.

Plenty has happened since my last post to this column, though it appears that nothing changes when it comes to a rift between the Commons and Assembly, MPs versus AM’s in what one leading Welsh blogger has described as “…the Welsh Affairs Select Committee’s response to the housing LCO suggests that it is, illegally, attempting to make itself the Assembly's upper house.” and by another as a constitutional stand-off between the National Assembly and the Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons.

You can always predict when disaster and controversy will strike at the heart of the Assembly, and it’s usually when Lord Elis-Thomas opens his bi-lingual mouth. Bi-lingual in terms of speaking - both as an Assembly Member and Presiding Officer - and occasionally mixing the two when convenient. Not this week. Though it has opened old wounds with a former adversary.

This week’s main tension comes from the to-ing and fro-ing of work by the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee and our own National Assembly. This has resulted in resident villain [usually], or as others call him, Presiding Officer Lord Elis-Thomas [Dafydd Elis-Thomas to his friends, I’m told] in having to stick his nose in where it needs to be for a change - in policing the remit of LCO's. His lordship has taken time out to write to two-time Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, expressing concerns and accusing the Welsh Affairs Select Committee of MPs of "anti-devolution sentiment". Elis-Thomas is no stranger to offering his opinion on a whole range of ‘constitutional’ matters.

It may sound odd, but even other Assembly members have queued up behind the Presiding Officer, not just fellow Plaid members this time, and called for him to be heard as the voice of reason.

This fistfight between Commons and Assembly has happened before and was largely seen as a straight fight, with the Assembly’s proposal dumped from a great height without sound – simply no remit to turn this into law. This time it’s different.

The present bout over the Welsh Assembly Government's request for powers to legislate over the so-called right-to-buy-scheme. In short, the Welsh Ministers are asking for more than they originally sought and are being ticked off by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. The committee’s jabbing response is one of - you do have the right to do both, but you only discussed suspension of the right-to-buy when you talked to us about it originally. Because of this we believe you should stay within the original draft.

On this occasion the common sense approach is needed as much agreed by those that generally take a step back from those MPs that it directly affects. MPs do seem to be interfering too deeply into matters concerning the remit of the WASC when it comes to dealing with LCOs. Their role as committee members is to work within the remit of the Government of Wales Act when it comes to guiding LCOs through their part of the process. Anything more, and they run the risk of being accused of standing in the way of devolution, the Assembly, sometimes their party colleagues, and what their future has in store for them.

Too much interference may stave off extinction of some of their numbers, and will – in some cases – harm their legacy as Welsh politicians. Common sense and mutual trust is a must, but sometimes hard to come by, even within members of the same party.

And finally…

A welcome back to blogging to my old friend, Matt Wardman after his short trip to Wales, where he took in the ‘To blog or not to blog’ debate. I hope it was all worthwhile after the blogging banter that arose beforehand, and that the best side won.

Since writing this article it seems that blogging won the day, although I turn my face as there was much stick for anonymous bloggers – “Not accountable? True enough. Not reliable sources? Fair enough. Malicious? Some can be. Unchristian? Now hang on ... “

I’m still not convinced that I should ‘out’ myself!

Senedd Blogging Debate Updated Programme

After some kerfuffle last week around the debate on the usefulness (or not) of political blogs organised by the Bevan Foundation, I've been invited to join the panel to give a blogger perspective.

This is the new agenda quoted from the Bevan Foundation website:

To Blog or Not to Blog? !!!! NEW PROGRAMME !!!!

6.00pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st October 2008

Conference Rooms C&D, Ty Hywel, National Assembly for Wales

The line up now is enthusiastic bloggers Peter Black AM, Matt Wardman and Betsan Powys, Political Editor of BBC Wales, along with scepticism and commentary from Eleanor Burnham AM, Annabelle Harle from the Electoral Reform Society, and Victoria Winckler, Director of the Bevan Foundation. The discussion will be chaired by Daran Hill, MD of Positif Politics.

This event is being held in the Assembly with the support of Peter Black AM. Refreshments are provided with the support of Positif Politics. We are trying also to get the discussion streamed.

All welcome - please confirm your attendance can you email Daran Hill on daran@positifpolitics.co.uk

I'll be going down for early afternoon on Tuesday on the train. If anyone is going to be around drop me a line on mattwardman AT gmail DOT com and we can meet up for a coffee.

During the afternoon I may make a couple of videos around the Bay area. If you see someone holding a balloon at arms' length in protective gloves, that will be me trying to find out whether it is a threat to life and limb as reported by Betsan Powys back in the Spring. (*)

I'm also hoping to get cameo interviews with as many Welsh bloggers as possible, and I'll be looking for recommendations of Welsh Blogs that us uncivilised oiks on the other side of Offa's Dyke should be reading for self-improvement purposes.

Unfortunately it is a steam powered video recorder which records to a small 1Gb hard disk. So I won't be attempting to record the debate itself, as I hope that somebody else will be doing that.

In the debate I'll be focusing on specific examples where blogs have achieved things that would not have been possible - or at least would have been very difficult - if they did not exist.

I am told that bookings are OK to give a decent debate, but there is still some room left for more.

(*) For the record, Latex allergy is a problem worth taking very seriously but banning children's balloons is totally wrong-headed in my view, unless you are going to ban a whole lot of other things as well - including stress balls, rubber keyboards on calculators/computers, bananas and the wrong sort of carpet underlay.

Asking Miliband a question!!!

Returned home from a tiring day out with the Wagstaff family and now discover that I'm suffering from the flu. What could be worse? What about receiving a junk email; trying to think of a good question to ask Miliband; posting it on a website, and then waiting for the response. It's at times like this that I hate blogging!

Email

My name is Mr X and I am co-founder of http://www.yoosk.com/ (a platform for the general public to submit and vote on questions for people in the news.) I am writing to bring to your attention a project our website is currently running with the FCO?

Following David Miliband's visit to Wales, he is interested to hear from Welsh people [only Welsh people?] with any questions they may have for him.

This is an extract from the FCO Press release:

"David is visiting Cardiff on 16-17 October. He will meet a wide range of people from different Cardiff communities. He will talk to them about how foreign policy issues such as climate change, migration, trade-investment and international conflicts are not just foreign policy issues, but have an affect on our daily lives. He will hear from these groups what foreign policy means to them and the impact these challenges are having on these communities.

Are you affected by these global issues?- Are you worried about the impact of global trends on your community?- Would you like to know how the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office affects Wales? - Have you always wanted to comment on an aspect of our Foreign policy?

If so, now is your opportunity to ask and comment to David direct!

During the next week, he invites you to put your questions on these and other related foreign policy issues to him via Yoosk. And he will respond to your questions on this site."

Cabinet Members have consulted the public before in similar ways but usually they reserve the right to choose the questions which they will answer – the difference with this interview is that David Miliband will actually answer the questions which people most want answering. If you think this is something which your readers may be interested in contributing to, we would be very happy if you could find time to give it a mention.

What is Yoosk?
Yoosk is an interactive interview magazine which enables you to participate in the news gathering process by putting your questions to politicians & celebrities.

Contrarian blogging - in somebody else’s comments box (an example)

As it's a quiet Friday in the office and I wasn't planning on a lengthy post myself, thought I'd pick up on what I read in the comments section of a post the other day. Interesting comment made by Matt Wardman in the comments section of "Welsh business not confident in Assembly Government".

The post in question is about the economy and Welsh businesses showing no confidence in the actions of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Number of comments for this post is 33. Number of comments on topic, 8. This leaves the number of comments speculating as to who I am as 25, which is typical given all the rumour and gossip I've been hearing lately.

Matt has posted on a wide range of topics since he first started blogging, particularly in the area of blogging and freedom of speech. Thought I'd share his comment and original post with you. Makes you wonder!

This may sound like a strange idea, but there can be considerable benefit in letting part of your blog be hosted on somebody else’s site - in their comments box. You get the benefit of a possibly wider audience - and therefore lots of attention.

Chris Paul has had a “sceptical about Tories” blog since before I started, and it is hosted in Iain Dale ’s comments box. I reckon that he gets his largest readership from this “alternative” not the real one hosted at Labour of Love; it has something like 350 entries.

The unputdownable Dr Irene Lancaster FRSA has developed a whole series of pro-Israel blogs in the comments of (for example) Ruth Gledhills blog (228 entries to date) and the Spectator (42 entries so far),

There are certain limitations, such as your alternative blog posts having to have some distant relation to the subject under conversation - but that doesn’t seem to slow some people down.

If you select your host correctly, you can even develop an anonymous blog. Guido provides an “anonymous blog hosting service” in his comments box. In this case it is an “anonymous” group blog with more than 4000 entries .

It’s one approach to think about on a Bank Holiday.

Welsh Politico Award: Gold, Silver, and Bronze

The results are out for the Welsh Politico Award in which four judges chose their favourite posts from the last 12-months in the Welsh political blogosphere. All nominated posts can be found here. Congratulations to Ordovicius for organising the award.

Gold Post: ...Go on, say something! Author: Amanwy Blog - Bevan Foundation Blog

Silver Post: Beth yw pwynt Llywydd Plaid Cymru Author: Penderyn Blog - blogmenai

Bronze Post: Welsh Conservatism and devolution Author: Dylan Jones-Evans Blog - Dylan Jones-Evans

The debate started before the Cardiff Blogging Debate began

I'm pleased to hear that from the uproar in the comments section that was caused by my good friend's post discussing the future 'Cardiff Blogging Debate', Matt Wardman has now been invited to join the pro-blogging panel.

It goes to show that a small amount of constructive criticism goes a long way in blogging.

Update: It says a lot about the Welsh economic downturn when we have to import English bloggers due to our home-grown being too expensive [laugh].

Slugger Political Awards Report: Changing not circling the political process

The Slugger Awards have just taken place in Belfast, described thus

For the last six years, with all its various eyes and ears, Slugger O’Toole has been a particularly avid watcher of the political scene. We have endeavored to pick up and share the best journalism and research and keep a close eye on Northern Ireland’s nascent political process. In our own informal way, we’ve acted more as a critical friend than fawning acolyte or jaded oppositionalist.

At Slugger we think that we have a fantastic opportunity to improve politics in a way that institutional reformers will never be able to. We want to reward better politicians, better politics and better governance. We’d like to reward those that have succeeded in reaching out to the public and involving them more effectively in local governance.

So today, with the support of our launch sponsors, Stratagem NI Ltd, we are announcing The Slugger Awards 2008.

Rather than bloggers patting bloggers on the back, this was an award ceremony where a blog is giving awards to other players in politics for "conversational politics".

The work that Slugger is doing is (as far as I know) unique in this country: a blog having a measure of impact in seeking to strengthen the political process, rather than simply trying to make different things happen using the existing political process. That's what we need for blogs to fulfil their potential.

Slugger Awards Podcast

The Digital Circle podcast from Sims Digital Media reported on the event (and the audio is on my Wardman Wire post).

Other reports of the awards

• Alan in Belfast: The Slugger Awards - for the wee guy and the big names. (Good personal report)
• NALIL - North Antrim Local Interest List: NALIL - Slugger Political Blogger of 2008 (award winner)
• Daithi McKay (Short report)
• Crea8ivity (Good summary. Damn and blast people who use hard to type names for their blogs!)
• Young Unionists (Brief)
• Redemption's Son

Who won the Slugger Awards?
(Reformatted from the Awards site).

• Best MLA: Naomi Long for her speechcraft and fluent (and combative) contributions to Assembly debates. And for getting Alliance noticed!
• Up and coming politician: Daithi McKay for his work on the Giant’s Causeway controversy (his one of three winners whose award related explicitly to that particular issue).
• Local Council: Belfast City Council, for scale and profile and running a tidy fiscal ship but also for its leadership role in the Open Cities initiative.
• Local Councillor: Deirdre Nelson, one of a new generation of outward looking local councillors.
• Journalism: David Gordon by proving that not everyone in the world of mainstream media has succumbed to ‘Churnalism’.
• Best blogger: Mr Nevin Taggart, who by diligence and close attention to local affairs proves that you don’t have to be big to be clever.
• Assembly Committee Chair: Danny Kennedy.
• Local Newspaper: Impartial Reporter (Fermanagh) has stuck to its last and consistently brings real news and strong analysis to its local readership.
• Representatives external to Northern Ireland: Peter Robinson for marshalling his disparate band of troops and leaving Westminster a calling card that he’s now the man back in town.
• Jobsworth Award: Assembly Commission.

Wrapping Up

In my view this is an example for the other countries in the UK. The interesting question is this:

How long will it be before any "mainland" blogs are taken sufficiently seriously to be able to mount such a set of awards in London, Cardiff or Edinburgh (or - I suppose - in Brussels)?

I don't think I have seen any reporting of the Awards in the British press or on British blogs. That is a pity - NI is streets ahead of any other part of the UK in this respect, helped by the fact that politicians in Northern Ireland perhaps haven't realised yet that they are supposed to be an Elite living in a bubble. Long may this ignorance continue.

[Update: formatting tidied.]

No more fantastic imagery from the breath of the dragon

I wasn't planning on posting today, but in typical fashion I made the mistake of browsing through the blogs and came across the sad news that The Cynical Dragon is no more. David from Newport has decided to call it a day in what he sees as inevitable.

This blog is now dead. A former blog. Due to work and personal commitments I've found it impossible to keep up and know that these commitments will consume more
of my time in the coming months. I've enjoyed the experience. Thanks to all my fellow bloggers who've helped, commented and offered support.

All I can suggest is that you keep the blog open in case you get the urge to blog again, even if your posts will be sporadic. Finding time to blog is always difficult, and I've noticed this morning that the rumour mongers didn't sleep last night on this blog. In truth, I have felt the same way as David on two occasions over the last year, and found that my work-life balance wasn't working out for me - I wasn't having much of a life.

Not that I want this post to be dominated by bad news. On a better note Dylan Jones-Evans has decided to return to blogging. Welcome back Dylan.

On this sad day there's only one person in Wales that will be pleased with this outcome, and the rest of us will notice that there's a place in the Wales Top 40 that will be noticeably empty.