Irfan Husain Over the last week, we have been exploring parts of Sri Lanka that we had not visited before. I was particularly keen to get to Jaffna, the Tamil town at the very northern tip of the island. Situated on a lagoon, the city is supposed to be very beautiful, even though it was badly damaged during the long civil war.Despite our best efforts, we could not get hotel accommodation anywhere except in a dubious guest-house. Clearly, many people wanted to visit a town that has been cut off from the rest of the country by years of heavy … Continue reading The high cost of conflict

Great Post: http:// http://www.chaudhryjavediqbal. net/2010/02/karzai-and-his-conscripts.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chaudhryjavediqbal+%28Bazm-e-Iqbal%3A+Save+Pakistan+from+Pakistanis+-+Chaudhry+Javed+Iqbal%27s+blog%29 Continue reading Karzai and his conscripts

January 19, 2010 Dear Straight Dope: What “pact with the Devil” was Pat Robertson referring to that supposedly caused the recent earthquake and most of the rest of Haiti’s historic woes?  And what is the reverend’s source of exact quotes from Satan himself? —  Joanne SDSTAFF JillGat replies: How Pat Robertson got so chummy with the devil is a subject I’m not getting into. However, it’s interesting that the prince of darkness speaks in colloquial U.S. English. Here’s Robertson’s account of how the diabolical deal went down, as heard on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s “The 700 Club”: Something happened a … Continue reading What’s this “pact with the devil” that Pat Robertson says caused Haiti’s woes?

October 27, 1978 Dear Cecil: Is it possible to roll or loop a 747 or DC-10 loaded or empty? I have a bet with my roommate and he says the wings would shear off. I say it could because otherwise they wouldn’t allow it to fly people. Cecil replies: No one has ever tried to get fancy with one of the Big Birds, but there once was a Boeing test pilot who, in a moment of frivolity, took it into his head to execute a barrel roll in a 707. He made it, but he didn’t exactly endear himself to … Continue reading Is it possible to loop or roll a 747 jet?

August 20, 1982 Dear Cecil: Is picking one’s nose harmful? Sometimes when I pick mine, nasal hairs come out with the other stuff. In light of the filtering functions I have heard ascribed to these hairs, is there any damage to the olfactories? — Leo D., Dallas Cecil replies: The chief danger of picking your nose, Leo, is that you will gross your friends out of existence and wind up as a richly-deserving social pariah. Your sense of smell is probably not in any great danger. The loss of some nose hair, whether by picking or otherwise, is normal; the … Continue reading Can you die from picking your nose?