You what?

Just read this article over at Reuters, about a Chinese political adviser saying that Bibles should be put in hotel rooms over the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I'm a little surprised, to say the least! Last I heard, Chinese officials were pretty keen to discourage those in China who wish to pursue Christianity. Far from clearing up misunderstandings about China and religion, as the adviser suggests, I'd say this just makes the Chinese government's position more complicated and two-faced.

This one just gets to me because I don't think it's right for anyone to say "no, that's wrong, you can't follow that religion" but I think it's even worse to say "it's wrong for you to do that, but as we've got people visiting..."

Just a thought.

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It's The Monday Melee again!

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
The assumption that someone wearing clothes that are not currently in fashion equates to them being unfashionable. I know people that are not told how beautiful they are nearly as often as they should be, just because they're not wearing this season's TopShop line.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
I know I'm taking a strong stance about something I'm certainly not an expert on, but I'd say that the Chinese adviser's attempts (above) to say that the Chinese government is totally cool with Christianity are pretty phony.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
I'm unhappy with Hotmail as - due to a fault with their email system - a friend just sent me an email that wasn't meant for me, causing embarrassment all round.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
I was staying with a friend in Birmingham over the weekend, and she sat me down to finally watch some of the films that I've never seen but have always wanted to. These included Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of the Opera, though I fell asleep during the latter as we watched the second half of it at 2 in the morning after we got back from a club. Among the many other films we watched, we also saw Mulan which I don't remember seeing as a kid. I loved it!!

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I can make a mean cup of tea *slurps*

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
I wish that Ben&Jerry's ice cream didn't have any calories in it, so that I could go and eat the entire tub of it that I've got waiting in the freezer and think "oh what a healthy snack - aren't I good?"

To be continued: my recent trip to be in the audience of Trisha, and more on my weekend in Birmingham.

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Listening to: Advertising the Invisible - Andy Flannagan
Actually hearing: Shrieking: one of my housemates just fell over the hoover
Thinking: How nice it is that sitting at my desk offers a clear view of the football players warming up outside