Ugly is as ugly looks?

My walk to work takes me through Elephant & Castle in south London – it’s lively but it certainly isn’t pretty… as you can see from this photo.

On Saturday’s World Today we’ll be talking about the “uglification” of our towns and cities… new housing developments are quick and cheap to build… but critics say they also LOOK cheap and nasty!

Is the gunman’s Muslim faith at all relevant?

Jennifer has posted elsewhere on this blog that ‘It was this man’s inability to contain his religious beliefs that caused this tragedy.’ Look online and there is clearly resentment in some quarters that his faith is being so central by some. Look elsewhere, and others are fuming at what they see as a crime driven by Islam. And I’ve just got this email from Ravin, criticising the media’s references to his faith – have a read…

Have the events of this week weakened the resolve of the forces to fight on in Afghanistan ?

““I’d say morale’s at an all-time low – mostly because of Afghanistan now, nobody knows why we are at either place, and I believe the troops need to know why they are there, or we should pull out, and this is a unanimous feeling, even for folks who are pro-war.”
Fort Hood soldier.

There was only one talking point today – the shootings at Fort Hood.

At the meeting we talked about some of the things you are talking about ; starting with morale.

Thinking back to Killeen

Back in November last year, Kate, Madeleine and I drove out of Austin in Texas and headed for Killeen. It’s a town full of army-outfitters, hairdressers, tattoo parlours and dry cleaners, and sits right next door to Fort Hood.

A terrible bloody week for NATO forces

The shooting carried out by the US Army major Nidal Malik Hasan in Texas is the latest shocking chapter in what has been a grim week for the armed forces in the U.S and in Britain.

12 were killed, and another 30 injured.

The cycle of life …

Hi, it’s Caroline here from Europe Today.

 When I cycle in London, I feel like there is an ongoing war between cyclists, motorists and pedestrians, and it can get pretty aggressive.

 A report out here today suggests the number of cyclists dying or badly hurt on the road is on the rise.