Hi folks! I’d open the Roundup by quoting some Burns at you, but frankly, you’ll have heard quite enough from the Bard by the end of the week. In any case, there have, as always, been lots of reasons for bloggers to take to their keyboards, not all of them poetry related.

Firstly, people seemed to get excited about things going on across the Atlantic, with the small matter of the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States of America. Ewan Aitken and Caron are particularly celebratory, though not as celebratory as Labour Councillors in Lewisham, who, as James notes, spent so much time waxing lyrical about Obama that a Green proposal for free school meals couldn’t be brought to the meeting.

Bill Cameron looks forward to what the Obama-Biden administration will mean for LGBT rights. Shuggy detects a Puritan streak in the new President, while Ideas of Civilisation notes that the difficult part is still to come. Mark Gallagher, meanwhile, notes that the change of administration hasn’t been matched by a major shift in policy on Israel-Palestine.

In terms of the inauguration ceremony itself, Willie Rennie MP missed it, while Ewan Watt wasn’t overly impressed. Flying Rodent covered the event from a parallel universe, while Malc notes that the BBC may have been doing so as well.

And of course, there now begins a scramble to claim some sort of closeness to the new President: of the contenders, Yousuf is in the strongest position of all, having spent time with Obama campaigners. Mr. Eugenides and A Leaky Chanter snigger at the Scottish Tories’ attempts to jump on the Obama bandwagon (didn’t John McCain address a recent UK Tory Conference?), while at Crap Holyrood Chat there’s exasperation at Alasdair Allan’s efforts to hitch the Outer Hebrides to President. And indeed, Alex Salmond’s attempts to claim Obama as a descendant of a Scottish king have annoyed Welsh blogger Alwyn ap Huw, who claims that Obama o Fôn can actually trace his roots back to Anglesey, making him the 41st US Presidents with Welsh lineage. Alwyn claims that Obama would in fact be the 44th Welsh-American President had his countrymen not disinherited Nixon and “disinheramatated” the Bushes.

And with the Bush administration gone, Osama Saeed believes it’s time for another set of violent extremists to leave the stage: al-Qaeda.

Anyway. Celebrations are now underway closer to home – and around the world, as it happens – for Burns Night. Enjoying the festivities are , Andrew Burns and Kevin Williamson.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has been taking flak for missing a knife crime summit to attend Burns Suppers in Canada. Jim Millar leads the online criticism, while Calum Cashley notes that Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing was present, leading him to wonder why Opposition politicians wanted two Ministers there, and what Junior Ministers did in the last Executive. In a second post, he reflects on the contribution to the discussion made by John Muir, the father of a victim of knife crime.

But back to 250-year-old men who play a large role in the national consciousness: Kenneth Clarke returned to the Tory Frontbench this week, as Shadow Business Secretary, prompting wags to express surprise that Peter Mandelson could actually have a shadow. Angus Nicolson, Andrew Burns, Holyrood Patter and Yousuf Hamid ponder the ins and outs of Clarke’s return.

And the re-emergence of Clarke co-incides with Ideas of Civilisation reflecting on the absence of real personalities in politics, through the medium of snooker.

Seeing as Big Ken will be looking at economic issues, it seems fitting to note that the recession pundits have been banging on about for weeks was finally made flesh this week. Ewan Watt, Richard Havers and Jeff all take a look at the state of the economy, and their conclusions don’t make good reading for Gordon Brown. James, meanwhile, notes that the state of the Icelandic economy, and the political consequences for Prime Minister Geir Haarde, make Alex Salmond’s model of independence look far weaker than it once did. Elsewhere, Malc wonders if this was altogether the right time for RBS to announce its continued sponsorship of the Six Nations, while Caron can’t quite believe that the acceptability of Scottish banknotes in England is the biggest thing on David Mundell’s mind. (By the way, the one thing I hate about spending Scottish notes in England is that the cashier automatically asks, “Oh! Have you been to Scotland?”. I always want to reply, “No, I’ve been to Tahiti, where do you think I’ve been?!”)

Speaking of spending money, Duncan Cumming notes that Charlie Gordon MSP has managed to spend a five-figure sum on his website. Duncan Stephen adds his reflections.

Speaking of parliamentarians and their expenses, Mr. Eugenides, Jeff and Holyrood Patter take a look at the fiasco that ensued when Gordon Brown issued a three-line whip instructing Labour MPs to vote in favour of exempting details of MPs’ expenditure from Freedom of Information legislation, then said they could vote however they wished, then shelved the vote altogether.

Still, MPs having the public look over their expenses is small potatoes compared with having the police turn up at the office without a warrant and search the place, as happened to Daniel Kawczynski, Tory MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham. Stephen Glenn wonders what hope ordinary people have when MPs’ civil liberties are damaged like this, and Tom Harris MP has a thoughtful post on when a Parliamentarian should tell the boys in blue to go forth and multiply.

So it’s in that context that the Carnival of Modern Liberty should kick off, with McChatterer discussing civil liberties, and Wardog examining liberal civic nationalism.

In other matters, Tom Harris MP asks if it would be wise for Labour to , then asks if a Tory victory is all that inevitable anyway.

At a local level, Jeff looks at the speculation over who will be Labour’s candidate to replace retiring MP Gavin Strang in Edinburgh East.

Elsewhere, the BBC takes pelters for self-censorship, by refusing to broadcast the DEC’s appeal for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Bill Cameron, Julie Hepburn and Caron join in the condemnation.

Also taking pelters are the Glasgow City Council administration, for its plans to close and merge various schools in the area. BellgroveBelle, David McDonald and IndyGal all criticise the proposals.

Staying with shenanigans in local government, Stephen Glenn reports on developments in Aberdeenshire, where former LibDem Councillors Martin Ford, Paul Johnston and Sam Coull have quit the group to join Debra Storr in opposition.

Meanwhile, IndyGal reports on another example of Motion Wars in the Scottish Parliament.

Elsewhere, Derek Draper’s new online project LabourList has come under bloggers’ microscopes, and they aren’t too chuffed with it: Ewan Spence, Gus Abraham and Cabalamat are all unimpressed.

And with cynicism abounding in the blogosphere, Stuart Winton looks at what impact that has on people’s opinion of politics and politicians.

Congrats to Alex Massie, who has a new gig at the Spectator.

I’ve been waiting to say this on a Roundup for some time: Tom Harris needs help. But only with a su doku.

Scott notes that the Leader of Scotland’s sixth political party is less popular than Ben Adams from A1. Of course he is – Ben is far hotter whereas Tommy Sheridan wouldn’t even meet my low, low standards.

And finally, admit it… you’ve been just dying to know which member of Celebrity Big Brother is Nicola Sturgeon’s favourite. Well, wonder no more! IndyGal spills the beans.

That’s a wrap for this week… West Lothian’s finest, Stephen Glenn is here next week, and in the meantime, why not send your suggestions to scottishroundup@gmail.com, or fill in the formydoodah on the right? Bye-de-bye!

Hello and welcome to another non-political roundup highlighting some great Scottish blogs. I’m Sara from A Zippy Adventure. 

As Scotland’s year of homecoming kicks off, why not head over to Aye We Can!  which aims to “capture the creative and satirical spirit of Robert Burns though the creative potential of the net”. A more traditional take on the bard can be  found at Robert Burns’ letters

Talking of “home”, Silversprite is interested to hear your views and also notes the point of the winter solstice from the Outer Hebrides.

Elsewhere in the country, why not take a gander at The Islay Weblog  or if you are the twittering type discover what Islayers (?), Islayites (?) are saying by visiting Islayblog.com

 You could also take a peek at  Inveraray (and indeed other gorgeous pictures from around the country) in the Gloaming

Heading back down to Scotland’s Second City head over to the blog and podcast from For the Love of G…lasgow

Further Glasgow banter comes courtesy (or should that be with a lack of courtesy?) of Limmy

So has anyone made any new years resolutions? Anyone wondering about finding love online should perhaps have a look at TheCatGirl Speaks or there’s always Mike Smith’s Easytoplease Computing Dating Agency

Perhaps you have an urge to travel – so you could read the adventures of Edinburgh couple Neil and Gwen or perhaps see what Jeff and Ann are up to overseas.

My resolution is to cook proper meals (my eating habits are now worse then when I was a student) so I’ve been looking for inspiration from domestikate  and  Wendy at A Wee Bit of Cooking. Twice-baked potatoes, yummy.

In other assorted news, Duncan provides a comprehensive history of the highs, lows and demise of his former employer, premier purveyor of pick n mix, Woolworths.   What will become of all those laundry hooks?

The Beeb announced the new Doctor Who this month. As most of us were going ‘who he?’ Stuff on TV considered some possible lady companions for Hot Scot David Tennant’s replacement. Please god not Lily Allen. 

 …and finally a post to brighten up your day from Nintendo and Chocolate: Why do men have nipples? 

Well, that’s it for this roundup, thanks for reading, it’s been a pleasure, tip your waitress, try the veal etc (by the by, is it still not ‘politically correct’ to enjoy veal? Because I think it’s delicious). The next non political roundup will be on Wednesday 18^th February and we need an editor. If you can oblige or would like to nominate some posts, please do so by emailing: scottishroundup@gmail.com

Hello and welcome to my maiden roundup! Many thanks to Duncan for taking what some might consider to be a risk in allowing me to join the team. But rest assured: I’ll be as objective as humanly possible!

There are currently 108 Scottish political blogs listed at Total Politics, and so I had imagined that in compiling this roundup I would be spoiled for choice. In the event, it wasn’t to be. Aside from dearly departed blogs like ASwaS and Kezia Dugdale’s Soapbox, others such as Scottish Tory Boy, Cyber Nat and Political Dissuasion appear to be on hiatus, while yet others, including Tartan Hero and Jamie Hepburn, are now updated infrequently.

But three promising new blogs registered on my radar this week: A Leaky Chanter, Nationalist Mythbusting and Wardog. Oh, and the welcome return after a period of silence of Jim Millar.

Speaking of Kezia, scoop of the week might have gone to Jeff at SNP Tactical Voting, who found a Google cache of a withdrawn Scotsman Steamie post suggesting that she might take on SNP candidate George Kerevan (who is also the Scotsman’s Associate Editor) to contest Edinburgh East. I say “might have”, because despite the elements of a decent conspiracy theory being present it soon became clear that there wasn’t a grain of truth in the story!

Stage one of the Scottish Government’s budget turned out to be nowhere as close as first thought, passing by 107 votes to 16 with just one abstention. However, who knows what might now follow? Will tells us why a failed budget process should mean a new Holyrood election, while James suggests otherwise. Andrew Reeves explains why the LibDems voted against the budget.

Unpredictably, the biggest story of the week was probably the inquiry ordered by Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson into accusations that Scottish ministers, in particular the First Minister, have misled Parliament.

Inevitably, opinions on such an issue vary widely. Brian Taylor examines the background but draws few conclusions. A Leaky Chanter calls it “a very bad day” for the First Minister. Jamie Cooke thinks the inquiry makes Mr Salmond look “stupid rather than dishonest”. Stuart Winton sees parallels with Wendygate, while Robbie Dinwoodie notes that it’s “hardly up there with Profumo or Watergate”. Caron sees the inquiry both as a “storm in a teacup” and “an important storm to have”, while Malc criticises the style of First Minister’s Questions. Jeff thinks the whole issue is “getting a little bit silly already”, and if further evidence of that were needed, Richard Thomson notes that Iain Gray may have told Parliament the wrong number of apprenticeships in England. He wonders aloud if someone should inform the Presiding Officer.

On a less overtly partisan note, Jamie Cooke approves of the Herald’s campaign to have the number of councils in Scotland reduced from 32 to as few as ten, while Ideas of Civilisation is in two minds. Stuart Winton sees the proposal as motivated by the “growing pressure on municipal budgets and the self-evident duplication and bureaucracy” and thus sees irony in the Scottish Executive’s rejection of the proposal as a “costly, bureaucratic exercise”.

Calum Cashley highlights Greenpeace’s inventive plan to stall the expansion of Heathrow Airport. Caron and Stephen evidently approve and have become beneficial owners in the plot of land on which it is hoped the third runway will be built.

The Greens’ free insulation proposal gets a somewhat predictable thumbs-up from James at Two Doctors. Duncan at Doctor Vee is uncharacteristically effusive in his praise of the scheme.

Yousuf Hamid doesn’t think the SNP will be able to handle Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy’s “hug them close” strategy. But Richard Thomson takes the view that much of what Mr Murphy is doing is actually vacuous posturing.

Jeff lands interviews with the candidates for Rector of Edinburgh University – first George Foulkes and then Ian McKee.

Nationalist Mythbusting has a revealing post on the numbering system for monarchs’ titles, explaining “the principle of using whichever numeral in the English or Scottish lines of Kings and Queens happens to be the higher”.

Finally, here’s an interesting post at Poliblog Perspective which provides links to online archives of candidates’ election materials, including those for the Scottish parliamentary elections of 1999 and 2003.

So there we have it: the week that was. Will Patterson will be compiling next Sunday’s roundup. As always, you can nominate posts using the form on the right or by emailing scottishroundup@gmail.com. Bye for now!

Hello and welcome to this week’s roundup. Politics got right into full swing again this week following the Christmas break.

But first thoughts should turn to the ongoing situation in Gaza. Caron shared the thoughts of a friend. Meanwhile, Stephen Glenn took up Iain Dale’s challenge to see events from an Israeli perspective.

The Daily Record’s Magnus Gardham was impressed with the way the Scottish Parliament debated the issue. How far things have come along, he notes, in the six years since the debate over whether or not the Scottish Parliament should even discuss the Iraq war. David Maddox was not so impressed though, noting how one-sided such debates tend to become.

Yesterday there was a demonstration about the situation in Edinburgh. Caron wrote a full account of the day. Cat at stroppyblog added more, while Stephen Glenn provided the photographs. Stephen also updated the world on the event as it happened on Twitter (starting here). Malc in the Burgh is more sceptical over the benefits of such protests though.

In the world of Scottish politics, it’s that time of year again already: budget time. Ideas of Civilisation casts an eye over the process. James at Two Doctors also looks at how things might play out, analysing each of the parties’ positions. An interesting point in that post is about what what will happen should the Presiding Officer have to vote.

Meanwhile, David Maddox explains why the Lib Dems opted to send Mike Rumbles into the budget negotiations.

Jeff takes a closer look at the Greens’ proposal to install insulation in people’s homes for free. Jeff reckons it is a small price to pay for the support of the Greens.

The other big bit of news this week is also to do with money. How will the new crossing over the Forth be funded? Yousuf looks at all the options, but none of them particularly look like a goer. Maybe that’s just as well though, as Jeff is beginning to suspect that a second road bridge simply isn’t needed.

Meanwhile, WestWorld notes that the SNP is having a harder time over the second Forth Road Bridge that it would have had last year. But that is mostly because of the media — where is the credible political opposition?

Bernard Salmon looks at the funding squeeze that local government is set to face.

Indeed, with money being such a concern just now, Ewan Aitken thinks that the SNP Government’s £17.5 million contribution towards the purchase of a Titian isn’t needed either. It won’t create a single job, he notes.

And jobs are what is needed just now. Angus Nicolson tots up the figures in the Western Isles. Job prospects look bleak.

40 of the jobs that have gone from the Western Isles were at Woolworths. Craig mourns the passing of the store. Not as much as I do though — I lost my job because of it! I am currently writing a series of posts about Woolworths, the first of which is here.

The demise of Woolworths is obviously being felt because Experian published a report this week warning of the creation of five “ghost towns”, partly as a result of shops like Woolies closing down. New blogger John McGalt warns against excessive government intervention in such towns.

Speaking of the economy, Scottish Unionist has spotted the SNP Government taking credit for trends that began under the previous Labour / Lib Dem administration. And Andrew Burns reckons the SNP’s announcement of a “Capital City Supplement” is a similar con trick.

Alasdair thinks that the SNP’s record as it heads into 2009 is shambolic, noting how the COSLA concordat, Local Income Tax and the Scottish Futures Trust all appear to have hit the buffers. Andrew Burns similarly wonders what has happened to SFT.

Big Rab ponders the possibility of a new state bank being set up, and looks back on the Girobank.

The SNP is considering raising the age of criminal responsibility from 8 to 12. Jeff would be in favour of a rise, as long as bad parenting is punished more instead.

Alex Massie shares the story of a friend’s conversion from the Labour Party.

Holyrood Watcher reckons that the Labour Party doesn’t even understand working class past-times.

Tory Bear got the scoop of the Conservative activist who resigned from the party after attending a party dressed as Madeleine McCann.

Atheists have raised eyebrows with their bus advertising campaign. Alex Massie outlines how he thinks that many atheists are crashing bores.

Ewan Aitken suggests another message that could have brought the atheists more attention. Clairwil similarly notes that the atheists’ message is not exactly radical, and that the money ploughed into the campaign would have been better spent elsewhere.

On a more entertaining note, Tommy Sheridan’s trip to the Big Brother house has caused some mirth among bloggers. Of course, one can’t help but draw a comparison to George Galloway’s participation in Celebrity Big Brother. As a socialist, Stephen Bowman worries that Scotland’s two most high-profile socialist politicians have now both associated themselves with trashy television.

Perhaps more worrying though was the fact that Tommy Sheridan ill-advisedly sang a football song, and got himself tied up in knots in the process. Not being from the west of Scotland and having next to no interest in football, this stuff largely goes straight over my head, but Mr Eugenides outlines how Tommy Sheridan got it all wrong. He asks, “what other elements of his hard-left political views are similarly based on a grotesque misunderstanding of the everyday world he sees around him?”

For all your Tommy Sheridan-related needs as Celebrity Big Brother progresses, visit Scott at Love and Garbage.

Away from the excitement in the Big Brother house, Rhythmaning took a trip to another famous building, the Scottish Parliament, sharing photographs of and thoughts on the building.

Gus at 1820 noticed The Guardian’s strange story “revealing” that Robert Burns was a republican. The paper is set to reveal the Pope’s Catholicism later this week.

Mr Smith questions the wisdom of the SNP’s suggestion to its MSPs that they should take their holiday somewhere in Scotland in case going abroad looks funny in the year of homecoming. Sara adds her thoughts on the Homecoming campaign. Just who is the most famous person in the world?

Bill Cameron notes an unfortunate choice of music in a Channel 4 documentary about tight people.

Tom Harris has got his hands on a leaked memo from the Conservatives.

Speaking of Tom Harris, he is the latest politician to open an account on Twitter. I’ve noticed a few more Scottish politics types getting active in Twitter lately as well, which is great to see. Check out, for instance, Arthur’s Seat, Caron Lindsay, Jo Swinson, Stephen Glenn, Alex Massie…

Adopted Domain offers his political wishes for 2009.

The best way to include these next posts in the roundup is to use the exact sentence Stephen Glenn used when he suggested them: “On the twelfth day of Christmas Jeff and Fraser gave to us their 1,000th posts”. Congratulations to both bloggers!

And that’s the lot for this week’s roundup. Next week’s roundup will be brought to you by Scottish Unionist. Please keep the nominations coming in by using the form on the right or by emailing scottishroundup@gmail.com. Thanks!

Happy new year folks! It may have been the season of peace and goodwill, but there was still plenty for bloggers to think about as the curtain fell on 2008, and 2009 staggered drunkenly into the world.

Of course, it’s fashionable to look back at the past year, though no one did so with the same efficiency as Gus, who managed to condense 2008 into a couple of paragraphs.

However, most people opted to look forward: Caron, Ewan, Jess the Dog, Jeff, Stephen (though Number 4’s already fallen by the wayside) and Duncan all gaze into their respective crystal balls. Even I jump on the bandwagon.

Meanwhile, Tom Harris thinks of some New Year’s Resolutions for various folk, and Yousuf looks at what different bloggers won’t be saying.

Anyway, the ongoing strife in the Middle East is what’s motivated bloggers, and up to now, those Scottish bloggers who have commented have been on the same wavelength: Israel is coming in for criticism. Osama Saeed makes a return to the blogosphere to despair at the calls for revenge on all sides, and calls for the siege on Gaza to end. Cabalamat notes that for the Israelis, proportionality has gone out the window. Yousuf reports on on the reaction to the crisis in Scotland and again on the protest march in Glasgow yesterday. Meanwhile, Kevin Williamson thinks that the West should start taking Israel to task for its actions, and laments the lack of viable political choices for the Palestinians, while Ewan Aitken calls for a boycott of Israeli goods.

Elsewhere, the Pope managed to wind up the Scottish blogosphere just before Christmas, by equating the principle of two men engaging in a consensus relationship with climate change, despite the former causing far fewer floods than the latter over the course of the last few millennia, and that’s even if you take the Book of Genesis seriously! Anyway, Ewan Aitken believes that the Pope has got his priorities very badly wrong, Caron believes that sexuality is too private for any church or state to interfere with, Michael Greenwell rips the Pope’s remarks to shreds while keeping his tongue firmly in his cheek, and Mark highlights the absurdity of the statement in his post title. Stephen produces some far more thoughtful, personal reflections on the matter.

In a related matter, he also notes that the Vatican is no longer willing to adopt Italian law automatically. While on the other side of the coin, Shuggy wishes that the clergy would just stay out of politics altogether.

Elsewhere, the demise of Woolworths prompted some sadness and a little nostalgia for IndyGal and Ewan Aitken. And the behaviour of the shoppers who tore the carcass of the once-great retail outlet to shreds prompted anger from Silver Sprite.

In the realm of transport policy, Mr. Eugenides and James raise their eyebrows at Angus Robertson MP’s suggestion that Lossiemouth would be a good place for a spaceport. Oh, and James also puts forward a Green way to fly.

IndyGal isn’t impressed with Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Baker’s proposal to make convicted criminals wear high visibility jackets whilst on Community Service. Clairwil is less than impressed at LibDem Justice Spokesman Robert Brown’s proposal for tackling domestic violence, whie Stuart Winton doesn’t seem to be impressed with anyone’s attempts to address the Booze Culture.

And the Blogosphere’s love/hate relationship with the MSM continues into 2009: the decision of Channel 4 to allow a swivel-eyed fanatic to rant on its network has got people blogging… and, yes, Scott will be covering Tommy Sheridan’s stay in the Big Brother house all the way. Oh, and Tom Harris wasn’t overly impressed by the channel’s decision to offer airtime to Mahmoud Ahmedinejad either. Meanwhile, Ideas of Civilisation reflects on the need to inflate stories into more than they are, while Big Rab considers journalistic language. And Polaris lays into Holyrood magazine.

Twenty years after the Lockerbie bombings, Scott produces a moving post recalling the events of that night.

Radio Scotland’s Jeff Zycinski reflects on his own brushes with racism and prejudice.

Following Tory Frontbencher Nick Herbert’s Civil Partnership, Alex Massie discusses the differences between Conservatives in the UK and those across the Atlantic.

James attacks Donald Trump’s decison to put on hold the construction of extra housing around his golf development in Aberdeenshire.

Jess the Dog argues that the Government’s bailout of the banks hasn’t worked.

Julie Hepburn attacks a suggestion by UKIP that the Minimum Wage ought be ignored.

Money doesn’t seem to be a problem for George Foulkes: McChatterer isn’t impressed with his House of Lords expenses claim.

Yousuf Hamid is worried that security at the Scottish Parliament isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Health campaigner Julie McAnulty rips into Labour’s approach to health policy.

David Farrer suggests that the best way for governments to stop losing citizens’ personal data is to stop collecting it in the first place.

Jeff looks at the dynamic between Labour Leader at Holyrood Iain Gray, and Scotland Secretary Jim Murphy.

Finally, Angus Nicolson has a few choice words for UK Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, following his suggestion that websites could have film-style ratings.

So that’s your lot for the first Roundup of 2009. Duncan will be in the hot seat next week, and as always, you can nominate posts by e-mailing scottishroundup@gmail.com or using the twiddlydoodah on the right. Bye-de-bye!