JP's Corner of The Blogosphere

I am very pleased to see that my last post has provoked some discussion on Facebook, and I shall get around to responding in due course. In the meantime, however, I need an outlet for my latest rant against the railways – and blogging is as good a way as any. As a non-driver, the current Sunday timetable frustrates me because the hourly service from my folks’ place down the Arun Valley doesn’t connect too well with the hourly service along the coast from Barnham.  This means that a journey which would take just over an hour by car takes about two and a half by train.  On the positive side, Barnham station is one of the better places one could spend 46 minutes.  The guy in one of the two excellent cafes knows me quite well now and serves my latte just how I like it. Anyway, there are occasions – even on a Sunday – when one can’t really spare the time for a long latte break, and the news that Southern had applied for a new Brighton to Southampton slot from December wa...

I skimmed through this BBC article this morning, and I have since been thinking a bit about the proposals for a ‘Ground Zero’ mosque. It seems to me that to not build the mosque would be perceived as being intolerant, and I struggle to see why this is a fair conclusion. What happened to being tolerant of the feelings of those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks? Since when did being tolerant of someone necessitate doing what they want? I also think some of the comments below the article make some excellent points. I find it rather amusing that we Americans are preached to about being tolerant when Muslims are deemed as being as pure as the wind-driven snow and completely tolerant of all other religions. Take a Bible to Saudi Arabia and see how tolerant they are. We feel intolerant because Islam is perceived as a 'threat' - not just because of terrorism but also because the freedom that we enjoy in 'western' countries is not found in 'Islamic'...

Another reason for not being up to speed with current affairs is that when I listened the Radio 4 Lunchtime News the other day, most of the time was taken up with concerns over a few no-balls in a cricket match. I’m sure that the plight of some Pakistani cricketers is big news in some quarters, but probably not as big as, say, a major flood affecting the lives of thousands.  Or did I imagine that last bit?

Having returned from a few days sans Internet I’m not quite up to speed with current affairs.  However, I have just read this article about William Hague. Apparently, "Mr Hague himself now seems to understand that it was poor judgement to share a hotel room with an assistant." In light of the furore about MPs expenses, one wonders if, having adopted a new policy of not sharing a twin room, the next BBC article will read “he now seems to understand that it was poor judgement in the recession to spend an unnecessary amount on hotel bills.” Who would be a politician?