Dick on Iraq

Note the date in the upper right corner. via BoingBoing.

Memorial Day and Prayer

I watched some pretty powerful stories about our soldiers this Memorial Day. Thinking about the families involved and putting it in their perspective really drives home some powerful thoughts. I noticed how much it seems that those in power say that they are praying for the safety of our soldiers and it reminded me of this quote:

"To say 'prayer changes things' is not as close to the truth as saying 'prayer changes me and I change things.'" - Oswald Chambers

Somehow I don't see a lot of changes, despite all the praying.

Optional articles?

Random question for the day: Why do Brits always refer to hospitals without the article 'a' or 'the'?

For example, "Princess Diana was taken to hospital this morning."Should it not be, "Princess Diana was taken to a/the hospital this morning?"

Are there other words where this convention applies in British vernacular as compared to American?