The SNP Comes Back Down to Earth: Nicola Sturgeon and How We Do Our Politics Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 12th 2010 The Nicola Sturgeon saga has to be seen on at least three levels. Firstly and obviously it is about Nicola Sturgeon’s judgement, but it also throws revealing light on how the SNP Government is faring, and how we represent, reflect and enact our politics. Nicola Sturgeon is a thoroughly competent, talented, streetwise politician and minister. Her writing of a letter of support for Abdul Rauf, a constituent of hers, before he was sentenced for £80,000 of benefit fraud,

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Against all the Odds: The World of the Small Scottish Football Team Gerry Hassan February 11^th 2010 It is week three and sadly the final week of Jonathan Meades strange, fascinating and somewhat magical series on Scotland, ‘Off Kilter’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mwqvq/Jonathan_Meades_Off_Kilter_Episode_3/ This week his theme is the inviting subject of ‘The Football Pool Towns’, addressing small towns, hopes and Scotland through the world of football. This short series has illustrated how it is possible to tell stories of Scotland, and address supposedly familiar subjects in new, imaginative ways. In so doing it has exposed the chasm of aspiration at the

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It’s Good to have Gil Back! Gerry Hassan February 8^th 2010 I come from a broken home She had more then the five senses She knew more then books could teach And raised everyone she touched just a little bit higher And all around her there was a natural sense Gil Scott-Heron, ‘On Coming From a Broken Home (Part One)’ Today sees the release of Gil Scott Heron’s new album, ‘I’m New Here’, his first release in sixteen years, and only his second collection in twenty-eight years (1). And boy does it feel that

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Two Scotsmen Do Battle, the Truth and the War Gerry Hassan February 7th 2010 The many sides of Alastair Campbell were on display on the Andrew Marr Show http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qqzbq/The_Andrew_Marr_Show_07_02_2010/ this Sunday morning. The good, the bad - and the ugly, in a way which will dominate the Monday morning press. Here he was plugging his latest potboiler novel, ‘Maya’, all oozing charm and charisma, and as the interview ‘segued’ into the Chilcot inquiry, the many other facets of his character emerged. First, there was the fragility, as he paused and took account of himself, the cracks in his psyche

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Why the Parliamentary Expenses Scandal Won’t Go Away! Gerry Hassan February 6th 2010 The ongoing saga of the British parliamentary expenses crisis crossed a major watershed with the charging of three Labour MPs, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, and one Tory peer, Lord Hanningfield, and the possibility of more to come. There are so many layers to this. For a start the ‘gang of four’ are attempted to hide behind parliamentary immunity to prevent themselves being found guilty, literally explicitly making the case of ‘one rule for them, one rule for us’. Then there is the unprecedented nature

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Football Creep and the Dumbing Down of Media Gerry Hassan February 6^th 2010 It has been an historic day across a range of huge political issues: the resolution of the Northern Ireland impasse between Sinn Fein and the DUP, the public shame of criminal charges against MPs and a peer, BAE Systems paying back millions after the kickbacks it paid for contracts, and of course, John Terry standing down as England captain. On a day I spent the afternoon interviewing fellow blogger Tom Harris, Labour MP for Cathcart, in the Queen’s Park FC boardroom, I know that football matters. The

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Gerry’s Blog Wins More Awards Gerry Hassan February 5^th 2010 The Scottish Blog Awards culminated with the award everyone had been waiting for and wanting, the best newcomer http://scottishroundup.co.uk/2010/02/04/top-newcomers-of-2009/ Being ‘new’ to this I fancied my chances in this and was rewarded with the high position of third place! Ahead of me were the bloggers Lallands Peat Worrier and We Know SFA, while I was well ahead of the Universality of Cheese which achieved brief fame and notoriety last year, Lesley Riddoch and ‘Major’ Eric Joyce, who consistently has been the most expensive MP in the entire Commons, and

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Another Scotland is Possible! The Joy of Jonathan Meades and Momus Gerry Hassan February 4^th 2010 I have just watched the second part of Jonathan Meades' idiosyncratic, challenging work of genius, ‘Off Kilter’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mqlzz/Jonathan_Meades_Off_Kilter_Episode_2/, his travelogue around Scotland - part rumination, part history, part observations on life, place and the meaning of it all. The first programme was on Aberdeen and focused mostly on its architecture, while this second one mostly covered Lewis and Harris, and centred on the landscape, the ether and feel of the place. Meades commented that its awesomeness made it felt like being witness

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Putting Politics Back into the Equality Debate: The Limits of ‘The Spirit Level’ Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, February 3rd 2010 Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett are right to talk about inequality (Guardian, January 30^th) and do so at length in ‘The Spirit Level’, a debate which seems to have captured something about the anxieties and fears we have about modern Britain and life. Yet, despite its popularity and the claims of its authors, ‘The Spirit Level’ does not offer a new egalitarian credo, and instead leaves crucial areas unexplored. Wilkinson and Pickett pose that inequality hurts and harms all

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Gerry Hassan in Top Scottish Blog Vote Gerry Hassan February 2nd 2010 The Scottish Blog awards today gave their verdict on the best journalist and mainstream blogs in Scotland http://scottishroundup.co.uk/2010/02/02/top-journalists-mainstream-media-blogs/ putting me in an honourable third place, behind Alex Massie of The Spectator and with the winner Joan McAlpine -  with Go Lassie Go, a site whose praises I was only singing last week! As a bit of a novice at this and just beginning to find my feet I am a bit chuffed to find myself in third place. That’s like having a proper hit single in the

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