Word: swords
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Islam is a double-edged sword in Sudan. In many instances, the regime harnesses it to advance its own power - witness the decades-long war successive Arab regimes in Khartoum waged against non-Muslim Africans in the south. Then, too, there are the regime's frequent charges of anti-Islamic bigotry against the West for its diplomatic pressures on Khartoum...
After a day's shopping, it's time to wind down. Hanoi's center, both geographically and culturally, is the pristine Lake Hoan Kiem. According to legend, it was here that a giant tortoise swam off with the Emperor's magical sword, after the Emperor drove off those Chinese invaders in the 1400s. Today it's a popular gathering spot where locals stroll, play chess, practice tai chi and, at night, admire the jewels that dot the lake: the red-lacquered Rising Sun Bridge, the Jade Mountain Temple and the Tortoise Tower. Here visitors can soak in the real Hanoi...
Tiro (novice) or not, brandishing a sizeable arma lusoria (wooden sword) and aiming strategically at the stomach of his lanista (trainer), my 12-year-old son Theo cuts an impressive swath as a gladiator-in-training. Far more real than reading a textbook about life in classical Rome, taking a two-hour course in the rigors of gladiatorial combat was a brilliant way for an enthusiastic Latin student to get the most from a school-holiday visit to Rome...
...keeps a younger blond (Alison Lohman) on the side. And in his showdown with Grendma, he's simply out of his shallows. She appears to him drenched in gold, with high-heeled feet and nipples pert enough to hang a horseshoe on. When her hand touches Beowulf's sword, it turns to water, even as his resolve melts away at her caress. Ulysses may have resisted the sirens, but Beowulf's self-regard leads him to think he can bed Grendma and then best her. All of which leads to the illuminating observation that even a hero of legend...
Vasella keeps a keen eye on his cherished drug business from an elegant second-floor office in the old Sandoz headquarters. On a counter behind his black leather chair are a pair of ancient Egyptian vases, a sword from the Han dynasty and a large blue-green bust of Buddha from the Tang dynasty. An avid collector of Oriental art, he recently bought a 13th century Tibetan statue of Buddha made of gilded bronze, which he keeps at his home in Zug. "I talk to him sometimes," says Vasella, "and I say, 'You know, I like you better than Jesus...