Continuing with today's cheery theme, I ran a search on the Chinese version of Google, which you may recall was widely reported as being subject to censorship when it launched. I believe it was a deal whereby Google got a foothold in China and the Chinese government were seen to be allowing wider adoption of the internet, providing the searches didn't throw up anything portraying the administration in a negative way. Unlucky for them that people always find a way to get around these obstacles, as demonstrated by the appearance of this link.

(Also worth checking here for a bit of context and here for something on Iran by the same author. Not saying it's particularly good or bad, just that it's there. So much for filtering)

The brutal lengths some people will go to to protect a political system that is flawed, unjust and monstrously oppressive. The images still resonate today as much as they did when I was 16 watching them on TV. Hopefully I'll cheer up in a bit and move on to something happier.

In the absence of any real enthusiasm for much today (probably due to the post-Bank Holiday blues - you know how it is) all I can suggest is that you sign up and contribute to this forum, started by a good friend of this page. At the moment its founder is set on it being all about Photoshop and related gubbins (one of his latest passions) and while he may not thank me for this I think we can take it to new and exciting places. You never know what may come of it unless you try.

On an unrelated note - and if you want to get good and annoyed - have a read of this article on the BBC stars' salaries. If it doesn't have you spluttering into your Ovaltine with barely suppressed rage (funnily enough that's my default setting) then I'm not trying hard enough. Bearing in mind that I am usually quite positive about the BBC (like my opinions count), and I understand the concept of paying top wages to attract the best talent, could someone explain to me how the likes of Edith Bowman (among others) fit into this? Please.

A further rummage will reveal the pay packets of the Eastenders cast but at the time of writing I am unable to post the links due to cold, apoplectic (I had to look it up too) anger at the savage injustice of it all. And more than likely a pinch of jealousy (note to self: studying your bits off to get a first class honours degree, working hard for the majority of your adult life, possessing a brain the size of a small planet and doing your best to be a decent human being along the way is worth a shedload less than the ability to say "Leave it out, mum" unconvincingly while looking like you just licked battery acid from a razorwire fence a la Martin Fowler).