Taliban-

· 'Taliban wanted to enter India after overrunning Pak'

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STAFF WRITER (PTI) 16:48 HRS IST

Islamabad, Jun 27 (PTI) Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that had the Taliban militants overrun his country, their next targets would have been India and Bangladesh.

"India and Bangladesh would have been next if the Taliban had taken over Pakistan," Malik told reporters while briefing them on the outcome of the meeting of SAARC Interior Ministers here yesterday.

Pakistani Taliban last year warned that it would dispatch terrorists to fight India, once an Islamic state had been created in Pakistan.

"We want an Islamic state (in Pakistan). If we get that, then we will go to the borders and help fight the Indians," Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's slain chief Hakimullah Mehsud had warned in footage aired by Britain's Sky News channel in October last year.

At the SAARC briefing, Malik contended that Pakistan's actions against the Taliban had helped improve regional security.

Pakistan's actions against the Taliban will continue till they are eradicated, he added.

How to treat others.

Five Lessons About How To Treat People
-- Author Unknown


1. First Important Lesson - "Know The Cleaning Lady"

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.


2. Second Important Lesson - "Pickup In The Rain"

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.

A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.


3. Third Important Lesson - "Remember Those Who Serve"

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "50¢," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35¢!" she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.


4. Fourth Important Lesson - "The Obstacles In Our Path"

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand - "Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."


5. Fifth Important Lesson - "Giving When It Counts"

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

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What is the origin of tipping?

October 22, 1976

Dear Cecil:

Coming home from a restaurant dinner tonight, the subject of tipping came up and with it many unanswered questions. Naturally, our thoughts turned to you, Cecil. (1) What is the origin of tipping? (2) Who determined the 15 percent figure? (3) Why do cabdrivers expect a tip when their job is to provide door-to-door service? I can understand giving a tip if the cabbie has to handle luggage, but they expect one regardless.

— Karen G., Chicago

Cecil replies:

The origin of tipping is lost, like so many things, in the Mists of Antiquity. There's evidence that tipping goes back at least to the age of the Romans, but human nature being what it is, it could just as easily date from the invention of money.

Luckily for us, etymologists have managed to come up with a selection of deeply fascinating etymologies for the phrase "to tip." The dullest and most likely has it coming from the Latin stips, meaning "gift." In the days of Geoffrey Chaucer and Middle English, "to tip" meant simply "to give"--as in "tip me that cheate" ("give me that thing"), immortal words penned by one Samuel Rowlands in his 1610 Beadle of Bridewell.

The most charming explanation refers us back to the days of Dr. Johnson and his eighteenth century circle of wits. Upon entering his local coffeeshop for a session of epigram-flinging, Dr. Johnson (or rather, one presumes, his flunky, Mr. Boswell) would drop a few pence in a box labeled "To Insure Promptness" ("T.I.P."--get it?) in order to encourage a greater display of vigor on the part of the generally listless attendants.

Tipping spread from England to colonial America, but after the revolution it was frowned upon (temporarily) as a hangover from the British class system. One only tipped one's social inferiors, which, lest we forget, did not exist in the brave new world. Unfortunately, the working class eventually got around to swallowing its pride, and tipping returned with all the fervor it possesses today. Even the Communist countries have not entirely succeeded in eliminating the practice. These days, of course, taxi drivers and waitpersons depend on tips for a substantial part of their income. If you didn't tip, presumably they'd expect to be paid more, and your restaurant bills and taxi fares would consequently be higher. The fifteen percent standard is mostly a question of what the market will bear. In New York, the figure these days is twenty percent; European restaurants generally add a ten percent gratuity to the bill.

— Cecil Adams

Sex-Crimes, Murder -- Hunt for a serial killer.

The hunt for a serial killer in a Mumbai suburb

Shai Venkatraman, Updated: June 23, 2010 22:53 IST

Mumbai: When a stranger was seen offering a sweet to a little girl today, an angry crowd surrounded him, then handed him over to the local police.

In other places, that may seem like an over-reaction. Not in Kurla, a lower middle-class suburb in East Mumbai.

Suspicion, regret, anger - the atmosphere in Kurla has been highly-charged since February, when a little girl was found raped and killed. The rapes and murders of two other girls, both under 10, followed - the last as recently as Saturday. All three murders were committed in Nehru Nagar.

What has Kurla simmering is not just the uncertainty that this won't happen again - but the fact that the police seems to have made no real progress in its hunt for the killer.

Two thousand people in the area have been questioned in what's being described as the largest manhunt in Mumbai in the city's recent history. DNA samples of 70 people were collected in March - they are still being tested. Frustrated with the police pace, residents now organize night patrols. Parents wait outside schools while their children attend classes. "Many parents have withdrawn their children from tuition classes. And when they do send them they make sure they are escorted," says Sunita Kadam, a teacher.

Twenty seven police teams search Kurla everyday. One man has been detained by them - he resembles a sketch of the alleged killer, they say. But the police is no longer trusted, and not just because it has failed to deliver results.

The second victim's body was found on the roof of a Nehru Nagar building that houses policemen and their families. Those sampled for DNA included a policeman's relative, say sources. Policemen and their wives have also been questioned.

Health - Benefits of sunlight for respiratory ailments.

Sunlight may help evade respiratory ailments--study

by neha gupta - June 23, 2010

Exposing the body to sunlight and allowing vitamin D to pour in may help reduce the impact of influenza and other respiratory illnesses, reveals a novel study conducted by investigators at Greenwich Hospital and Yale University School of Medicine.

Maintaining a high level of vitamin D, in the range of 38 nanograms per milliliter or more, can reduce the probability of contracting ailments including nasal congestion, sore throat, and common cold.

Lead Researcher Dr. James R. Sabetta suggests, “since vitamin D is generally acquired through exposure to sunlight, there is a higher probability that people living in sunnier climate often have higher rates of the compound in their body, thus making them less susceptible to the influenza virus.”

198 adults studied
The research led by James R. Sabetta, MD, followed 198 healthy adults for six months during the fall and winter of 2009-2010.

The blood samples of the participants were measured every month using a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, an accurate measurement of vitamin D levels in the body

However, the vitamin levels of the study group were not revealed to the researchers before the end of the study.

The participants were further asked to report any symptoms of a respiratory infection like nasal congestion, sore throat, cough with or without fever, chills, fatigue, and general malaise.

Results of the study
Out of the 18 people whose vitamin D levels were higher than 38 ng/ml, only three developed viral infections.

Of the 180 others, 81 participants, i.e. 45 percent, developed similar infections.

Those with better vitamin D levels showed a significant reduction in the number of ill days.

Supplementing with vitamin D to achieve a blood level 38 ng/ml or higher could result in a significant health benefit by reducing the incidence of viral infections of the respiratory tract, suggest the study researchers.

In their analysis paper, the team figured out that if a person had a vitamin D level of 38, the risk of allergycame down by 50 percent. "It is true that level 38 is just a little about what you should have to be considered in the sufficient range," Sabetta says.

However, further research is required to prove the effectiveness of vitamin D supplements in the prevention of the infections.

The study has been published in the peer-reviewed open access journal PloS ONE.

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