'Nother Solent

The twist in the tale is that the alternative world is our world.

Via Instapundit I found a post by the Chicago Boyz that contained comments by Jim Bennett on headlines the US media could have used when covering the recent EU elections but very definitely didn't. Got all that? Oh never mind, just read.

It takes nerve to comment on church affairs

when you're called Damian. Undaunted, Damian Thompson has written this excellent article about how the clueless English Catholic bishops have signed up to a predictably left-wing and ludicrously detailed political programme. Did you know that God wants us to extend Points of View? Also, God would prefer us not to talk about Mugabe's rape camps. Such is the collective view of the Roman Catholic Church in England, of which I am still officially a member.

Swimming Safety Give-Away.

This is one of the headlines in the Essex edition of Primary Times, a magazine distributed to teeny citizens. Beneath these enticing words readers are promised the chance to win free squishy objects to protect infant heads from the sides of swimming baths. I do not actually object to the protection of heads, and have to admit that the squishy objects, tradenamed "LaBumpa", might well be of use to children learning backstroke and, better yet, do genuinely make your child appear as if its head is being devoured by an octopus. (Scroll down to see it.) What mother could ask for more?

My difficulty is not with the principle of patented cushioning craniophagic headwear, but with these words:

"No caring or sensible parent would send their child to play football without shin pads, hockey without a gum shield or the non-swimmer without armbands."

I always knew I wasn't sensible. Now I know I am uncaring too. I would send my child to play football without shin pads. I would send my child to play hockey without a gum shield. I would send my child to play the non-swimmer without armbands. As you no doubt know, "the non-swimmer without armbands" is a minor character in Beckett's masterly portrayal of wistful futility, Waiting for Swimming Lessons.

I gather that some folk are greatly anguished

over the disappointing fortunes of their favoured team in a multi-national sporting competition that is currently taking place. The football result seems to have upset some people too.

Today I shall leave these things far behind. It's a school training day so I am off to Chessington World of Adventures with a ravening horde of birthday-maddened infants.

How mainstream is Jew hatred in Islam? What can we do to make it less mainstream?

David T of Harry's Place made the connection between the bland reports of how a famed Muslim preacher from Mecca spoke at the opening of the new East London Mosque and some savagely Jew-hating remarks that what appears to be the same man made when on home ground.

I've just posted something about this on Biased BBC. Over there I concentrated on the angle that the BBC (provides global picture, unrivalled depth of knowledge, blah blah blah) either failed to make the link or chose not to make it.

Here I'll just say that I still don't support preventing Sudais from speaking in Britain. On the contrary I support publicising him. One thing that has allowed extremism to flourish in British Islam is an over-polite silence. There are Muslim opponents of the Sudais line; one of them comments on the original Harry's Place post.