Tactical voting

There’s been a lot of hot air of late about tactical voting, and how disaffected Labour supporters can use it to ‘give Blair a bloody nose’ by threatening the majorities of safe seat MPs, or cutting the overall majority. Very silly, and only really for those self-important whingers who that politics is more about the …

The (real) voice of Zimbabwe online

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 …

My brother has a website. This in itself is not n…

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, …

Free Mojtaba and Arash!

Most places, the worst that happens to bloggers is that they don’t get read. Unfortunately in places less familiar with free speech on such an accessible scale, telling it like you see it can make you a threat to an authority. Two Iranian bloggers, Arash Sigarchi and Mojtaba Saminejad are currently in jail for blogging. …

PayWizard (http://www.paywizard.co.uk/) is an …

PayWizard (http://www.paywizard.co.uk/) is an interesting new site. It’s a salary checker, but goes deeper than that in that the data you give on their survey helps to build an open source international database on pay trends for academics and unions to research employment issues in their own countries as well as the effects of globalisation. …

Iraq needs trade unions – help the appeal

Free and independent trade unions are a key part of civil society, democratic organisations giving people a voice in their working lives and a stake in the economy. After years of suppression by Saddam Hussein, and the upheaval and destruction caused by the war, many courageous Iraqis are trying to start up a union movement, …