President of Belarus Wants You To Spend More Time Playing Outside

Or read a book, or knit...anything to get you off that lousy Internet, "out of which muck flows," President Lukashenko has said. Monday, he signed an order that requires any service provider to shut down within 24 hours websites deemed inappropriate by the government. In this case, "inappropriate" means any opposition or independent media website--the decree is specifically tailored to head off any unpleasantness in the run-up to the 2011 elections. The law would also affect foreign web addresses, including Google. Should be interesting to see how Belorussians get around this one, but one suspects (and hopes) they will find a way.