Zimbabwe’s government-independent newspaper, the Zimbabwean, has launched its online version today, reproducing articles from the paper for free. According to the paper, President Mugabe is trying to crack down on internet use, as it’s an unmediated channel to the outside world (trying to get ISPs to turn over users who write critical emails and so on), but luckily he’s not having much success, as the thirst for the truth means information is finding its own way through. The political leaning of this site isn’t particulary subtle (one headline today: “Tsvangirai – ’skilled and charismatic’ from trade unionist to national icon”), but here’s hoping this becomes a favourite bookmark inside and outside the troubled country. www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Fancy a new holiday?

Labour MP Claire Ward has a 10 minute rule bill lined up for debate on Friday (18 March). She’s proposing an extra bank holiday (in the middle of the 16 week no-holiday slog between summer & Xmas).

Let’s drum up a bit of support for it. Please take a moment to ask your MP to vote for the bill. You can do it online now at the excellent www.writetothem.com

10 min rule bills are an odd bit of parliamentese private member nonsense, which hardly ever make it all the way, but it might do it, and if not and it gets a good showing, it will be seen as an indication of the popularity for another holiday or 2, and this would make it more likely to come back again in official Government legislation.

more info and hassle your MP at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/work_life/tuc-9546-f0.cfm

My brother has a website.

This in itself is not news. Most people’s brothers have a website, as do their mothers, fathers, third cousins and pets. My brother’s one *is* very good though. It’s called tshrt.com, and is going to be a community for designers to swap t-shirt designs. Since changing employers & becoming 30, I’ve taken to wearing a lot less t-shirts of late, which is a ‘bad thing’. Properly done, a tshirt is the finest of garments. Which puts me in mind of the Kerouac book, Big Sur, that I’m spending my train journeys on at the moment: “And it’s almost tearful to realise and remember the old T-shirt I’d found, mind you, eight years ago, mind you, on the DUMP in Watsonville California mind you, and got fantastic use and comfort from it… On my deathbed, I could be… remembering the old lost green dump T-shirt and forgetting the sapphire robes - Mebbe the best way to get into heaven“.
So I for one will be doing a bit of shopping on the best designs and cutting down the collar-count of my wardrobe. If you’ve got a good idea for a t-shirt, get it printed here, and you might see me wearing it!