TimesSelect isn't just about the witty observations of Maureen Dowd or the elaborate "I told you so"s from Paul Krugman. No, it's so much more! Including this video of human rights advocate Nick Kristof getting a haircut in Kabul!

Much like fellow columnist Tom Friedman's taxi driver assessment system, Kristof believes that a good way to gauge the state of play on the ground in Afghanistan is by monitoring the fluctuation in price of a street-side haircare.

This time, Kristof's shearing set him back a whopping forty cents. That's thirty cents more than on his last visit. (Keep an eye out on the expense report, Times accounting department; we bet he tries to fuck you out of another dime at least.)

The video quality is grainy and intermittent (this is what we're getting for our fifty Times-fucking-Selecting bucks?) but it's a valuable insight into Afghanistan's outdoor grooming industry.

Oh, and! WARNING: Kristof's voice is so irritating that it may make you want to commit genocide. —balk

Haircut in Kabul [NYT]

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