Scottish Roundup

Welcome to this week’s roundup! I decided to write this week’s roundup as well since I had so many weeks off. From next week onwards it’s back to the normal routine.

There was much derision in the blogosphere about the Lib Dems’ decision to abstain in a Commons vote on the Lisbon Treaty. By Richard Thomson’s reckoning, Nick Clegg has made the party look opportunistic and irrelevant. Jeff reckons they have one eye on getting into bed with Gordon Brown in the event of a hung parliament.

From the Lib Dem side, Stephen Glenn asks if the 15 Lib Dem MPs that defied Nick Clegg’s orders were the more principled.

Meanwhile, Garry takes a look at what the debate over the Lisbon Treaty means for democracy. As does Stewart McDonald.

Back to the Lib Dems, over at Scottish Independence Convention, Murray Ritchie considers the party’s record on the issue of home rule.

Another Lib Dem revelation came in the form of Menzies Campbell’s autobiography. According to the new book, Gordon Brown tried to persuade Ming to put pressure on Nicol Stephen not to enter a coalition with the SNP. Menzies Campbell refused, not that it seemed to make much difference!

Indygal points out also that Gordon Brown even suggested that Scottish Labour could support a Conservative First Minister to keep the SNP out. Keep that snippet handy the next time a Labour campaigner tells you that a vote for anyone else is “letting the Tories in by the back door.”

Atlantic Exposure says it shows that Gordon Brown doesn’t understand devolution. Justified Spinner continues, asking what this says about Gordon Brown’s attitude towards, among other things, democracy. There are some recurring themes today…

Damp squib of the year so far must be the news that Wendy Alexander will not be prosecuted. Angus Nicolson points out that this was the worst possible scenario: “Not cleared — not guilty — no transparency.” And like Angus Nicolson, James Graham wonders if a flattering photo of Wendy Alexander exists. If you have one, send them on the back of a postcard to Wood Lane, Shepherd’s Bush.

Mr Eugenides takes a look some of the state’s advertising campaigns. He’s not best pleased about the threatening and accusatory nature of them.

On a similar theme, Bishop Hill asks how far their snouts are in the trough. He has produced a scatter diagram and everything.

The crooks in Russia got in partially with the help of a biased media. That’s not my opinion, but that of Russia’s electoral commission. But for western media outlets to criticise Russia on this is a case of pot and kettle for Michael Greenwell.

Meanwhile, the press in Scotland has itself been causing a bit of a stir when it comes to a certain election in the USA. Alex Massie defends The Scotsman‘s decision to publish Samantha Power’s less-than-flattering “off the record” comments about Hillary Clinton.

John Connell is not so impressed, noting that the queue of people waiting to be interviewed by Gerri Peev will be rather shorter from now on.

Meanwhile, Andrew Burns has come to the conclusion that Hillary Clinton simply cannot win, even on the back of her victories this week. Elsewhere, Cassilis takes a look at the “celebrity politics” of America. It isn’t pretty.

If you are interested in citizen journalism, social media and the like, this might be worth a look. The Evening Times has launched 12 new “ultra local” community websites. Citizen journalists are encouraged to write stories about their area. I have to say, they seem like pretty good sites to me.

The BBC has been raising eyebrows over its ‘White’ season. Niall at Mushkush reckons the BBC is pushing a distorted version of the truth by only emphasising some of the findings of their poll.

Flying Rodent finds that with the addition of white working class people to the ever-growing list of whining selfish moaners, now over 99% of the British population is either ignored or oppressed. As a member of the 1% of people who do not define themselves on the basis of any ridiculous demographic measures, I declare myself officially left out as well, and I am stomping my foot right now to prove just how left out I am.

In the wake of Ian Paisley’s resignation, This Is Alba considers his career.

Calum Cashley considers Labour’s attempts to argue against Local Income Tax.

Meanwhile, Kezia Dugdale is not so sure about the SNP’s plans on student debt. New SAAS rules will leave many students out of pocket.

Bill Cameron wonders if communities in the Outer Hebrides get what they deserve in terms of the local economy.

Sarah at Whoopdedoo considers the latest trend in environmentalism, charging for plastic carrier bags. How convenient, she says, that businesses are able to make a profit out of this big idea.

The Basa is concerned about the sudden decision of to close six of Edinburgh’s eight crèches without any consultation.

Speaking of Edinburgh, Scottish Tory Boy disagrees with Ewan Aitken’s suggestions on how to improve Princes Street.

Jamie Hepburn restates the case against ID cards.

John Connell thinks more should be made of the demise of BBC Jam, the groundbreaking digital education resource that was thwarted by the European Commission and the dreaded Public Value Test.

A couple of early reactions to Scotland’s victory in the rugby: Ewan Aitken proves Murphy’s Law, while Mike Smith wouldn’t care if it was tiddlywinks, as long as Scotland beats England.

Clairwil adds her $0.02 on last week’s big issue, Christopher Harvie’s comments. She is a fan of his!

Because I am a geek, I am yet again breaking my loose (i.e. non-existent) “one post per blog per week” rule to include these interesting thoughts on constitutional issues.

Jeff has a very interesting take on the party list system. I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but it seems quite worrying to me. Yet another one to add to the list of arguments against the AMS system.

Alex Massie notes that Gordon Brown has announced a review of the Barnett Formula. But those who talk about it don’t understand enough about it.

That’s it for this week! Next week Will Patterson is back in the hot seat. Don’t forget to send in your nominations — they are all considered and almost always included (I always include them unless there is a really good reason not to). Email scottishroundup@gmail.com, or use the dead simple form on the right.