All spikey on organics

Good piece in spiked-online today discussing the science (or lack of) organic food production. Does a nice job of getting to the heart of the matter - the tuth about organic food is that there are no really scientifically proven merits for eating organic. People go to organic food because of perception issues with modern farming techniques. Commerically of course, there are sound arguments in favour of organic produce - it acts as a differentiator between consumers who aren't driven primarily by pricing. Buying organic tells the supermarket or manufacturer that you'll pay more than those who don't.

Zimbabwe - The other African story

While there's a lot of attention rightly focused on Darfur and Sudan (a country that has been at war continuously since independence - and for much of the time before that too), let's not forget that life in Zimbabwe isn't getting any better either.

Mugabe continues to exemplify the 'hero of the independence struggle' who turns out to be a vicious authoritarian, corrupt and corrupting and clinging to power at all costs. Unfortunately it's a familiar story - and there are few signs that his kind are disappearing.