Back as a kiddy I was a fervent supporter of proportional representation (about the only chance my then party would have had of getting double figure seats). Since ’97 though, it’s been tempting to think pragmatically and do anything that’ll prolong Labour’s time in office and artifically extend their majority, so my interest – and …
is that it’s not enormously exciting. The royals aren’t very exciting either, but they at least do warm the cockles of a few old dears, and everyone likes a nice parade, so they seem to be more popular than the alternative – if only just because it’s easier to have a festival for something pointless …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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. …
Work Your Proper Hours Day is back This year it’s 25th February, which is a bit earlier than last year (was 27th), so things are getting a little better, but too many people are still skipping lunchbreaks and working late into the night – to the tune of £23bn free work for their bosses every …
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. …
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, …