I’ve missed the New Year celebrations on the 31st December for about fifteen years now so it’s getting beyond the point where you could consider it an accident. Indeed, the cold and the crowds both in Trafalgar Square and afterwards on the Tube don’t exactly encourage me to make an effort. Luckily Chinese New Year is at a more civilised time, is less busy and slightly warmer.

Still, it’s the first time I’ve ever made it!

• 2.8 Release Jazzes Themes and Widgets – I just upgraded ZX81 to the latest version of WordPress. Let me know if you see anything that’s not working properly!
• Chinese troops out in force for 20th anniversary of ‘nothing happening’ – “Many people who were in the area in 1989 were expected to observe the anniversary by staying at home and doing nothing special, much as they did 20 years ago.”
• Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen – “Few images are more recognizable or more evocative. Known simply as ’tank man,’ it is one of the most famous photographs in recent history.”

• China ‘Strikes Hard’ in Tibet – Not good.
• Creativity and stretching the sweatshirt – “For me, creativity is the stuff you do at the edges. But the edges are different for everyone, and the edges change over time.”
• Red Dwarf voyages back to Earth – I’ve been watching the reruns and, well, the episodes I’ve seen so far just haven’t been as good as I remembered them to be. I’ll probably still watch the new ones of course…
• Banks now refusing to lend pens – Only funny because it’s true. Ish.

A Tibetan monk spends a lot of his time meditating. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good picture of one so this weeks PhotoFriday, “Meditation,” is a picture of the many people who meditate, pray and prostrate outside the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “White.” I’m entry 266.

• The Cost of E-Voting – One of the many reasons that I am against e-voting machines: the cost. “The cost … increased 179 percent per voter on average.” All that money for a less reliable system. Bargain!
• Change we can believe in – I didn’t realise that we were in line for some new coins. They look surprisingly good, certainly much better than the new US notes. (Originally from daringfireball.net)
• Bali bombings: A sister’s search for justice – I’ve always said that it’s much easier to be against capital punishment when it’s just an abstract idea. Here the sister of one of the Bali bombing’s victims argues why she’s still against it.

• The Best of Technology Writing 2007 – I just finished reading this book myself yesterday. I was considering writing a review but Ars got there first and said it better than I would have done!
• Protests in Tibet erupt into violence – Violence is never a good thing, but the Olympics is undoubtedly a good time to try to raise the profile of the plight of the Tibetan people.
• Open Rights Group questions Phorm – Good to see TalkTalk, BT and Virgin Media’s abuse of their own customers getting more press.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Strength.” Here is my entry. A bunch of Tibetan prayer-wheels may seem like an odd choice, but they give the faithful strength in the face of adversity

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Silence.” I am entry number 300.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Barren.” Here is my entry. This picture was taken on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas on the last day as we were about to head back into Nepal.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Busy.” I’m number 278 (“–> Stephen <–“).

I couldn’t let the inaugural train journey betweeen Beijing and Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, go by without comment. It represents a huge shift for the Tibetans and, while it could bring some positive changes, it’s more likely to bring large numbers of Chinese and a quickening of the pace of the decline of their unique culture.

Wired has a nice article — “Train to the Roof of the World” — that takes a balanced view of the technology and politics. The BBC’s — “First Beijing train reaches Lhasa” — is much shorter if you’re pushed for time!

This is a big subject and one where I’m increasingly of the opinion that we’re going too far in the wrong direction. ID Cards and imprisonment without trial are bad enough but things seem to be going even worse on the other side of the Atlantic (or the UK Government is better at hiding their nefarious plans).

Last weekend I came across an article in the Washington Post that says that the Bush administration is trying to pass a law which would restrict the rights of the press. It would, for example, make it possible to prosecute reporters who found that the President did something illegal or to publish information about a wiretap.