Zimbabwe: ‘The devil came late today.’

Ruth Gledhill – Times Online – WBLG: Zimbabwe: ‘The devil came late today.’
Mothers Union, HarareThis might not look like the average Mothers’ Union meeting as we know them in Britain, but in terms of peacefulness, good works, child-centredness and Christian goodness, the Mothers’ Union branch in Harare is no different from its UK counterparts. Having known more hardship, its members are probably even more good than the unsung English stalwarts who keep the churches here upright in every sense. There can be no true explanation then for why, shortly after this photograph was taken, this meeting was broken up by Zimbabwe riot police.

Evidence of pointless intimidation in Zimbabwe, and the resilience of The Mothers Union!

World Day of Prayer for Zimbabwe on Sunday 27 April 2008

Anglican Communion News Service: World Day of Prayer for Zimbabwe on Sunday 27 April 2008
CrestA desperate cry from the hearts of Zimbabwe screams across the world

It calls upon all Christians of every denomination in every nation to focus their prayers, in churches, halls, homes or elsewhere, on Sunday 27th April, 2008 on the critical situation in Zimbabwe, a nation in dire distress and teetering on the brink of human disaster.

Let the cry for help touch your heart and mind. Let it move you to do what you can immediately to ensure this Day of Prayer takes place in your country and neighbourhood.

A plea for help from Bob Stumbles, Chancellor of The Anglican Diocese of Harare. If you pray make the people of this oppressed country the focus of your prayers on Sunday.

links for 2008-04-23

Free Britannica

In an obvious challenge to Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica is offering free subscriptions to bona fide publishers and bloggers. So I applied and was approved. Hence I can offer you all sorts of factual accuracies alongside my much opinionated scribblings. 

What’s more if you, my dear reader, click on one of the links I post to the learned tome, you too can read the whole Britannica article for nothing. So take a look at this widget and click for more ….

I have owned the many volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica since 1986 and collected every year book until last year when it seemed that the internet has superceded the hard bound volumes on the shelf.

A brief look at the online version reveals a much slicker delivery compared to the free Wiki entries. So if you love bells and whistles, Java and Flash, authority and formality  – you’ll love EB. But if you prefer the more geeky and folksy Wikipedia – well it’s still there and will remain forever free.

 

Why I don’t buy The Times

George MonbiotGeorge Monbiot: The most potent weapon wielded by the empires of Murdoch and China | Comment is free | The Guardian
If you want to know how powerful Rupert Murdoch is, read the reviews of Bruce Dover’s book, Rupert’s Adventures in China. Well, go on, read them. You can’t find any? I rest my case.

As lucid and alarming as ever George Monbiot puts Murdoch in his sights and provokes an intelligent discussion on the Guardian’s Comment is Free blog.

The Times used to be the final authority in British Newspapers. No longer. I’d rather read The Telegraph. At least I know what it’s bias is. I have to work hard to discern which part of Murdoch’s empire The Times is championing on any one day, but I know it’ll be in there somewhere.

Do I have Sky? Yes, but only for the football. And if wanted to rant on I could whip up a good argument for the way pay TV has ruined the beautiful game too. 

The article may be long but it’s worth reading, including the comments from readers.