Donkey Duke,. .. .There are many men and women here on this forum who fly in and out of places that make Karachi seem a walk in the park by comparison, perhaps those who operate in certain parts of Africa and East Asia may assist you in comprehending. As for Karachi itself, a brief perusal of virtually every major European airline timetable will show that Pakistan is visited with some regularity, and given the usual survival precautions taken by all aircrew, considered not only a normal layover, but quite safe as well. The proximity of war is nothing new (even bumps the load factor in some instances,) you might want to go there yourself for a look-see, get some valuable experience under your belt. Life is not all CNN and burgers dude.. .. .Lady Mouse,. .. .As a struggling student of both the American and British modes of expression, I generally find that the American prefers to place direct emphasis on the intent of the message, whereas the Brit will go to great lengths in making said delivery palatable not only to the ear (if indeed hearing has taste), but to the more refined of sensibilities as well. Why this is so is cause for further speculation. I myself find much of value in both methods, and tend to concentrate more on the very interesting spaces between the words. The intelligence, experience and wisdom of the speaker appears to reside rather more in what s/he chooses not to say.