in two column designs why..........
 

is the right hand column almost always the links/ads column and the content column on the left?

god put them there.

because people start on the left and look right. Putting the content left makes more sense if you want the content focused on. If your goal was to get views on your links/ads first, put a left sidebar in or switch the layout to sidebar left content right

If screen is small at least the links or content is shown, but the design should be flexible
like http://www.bimbolinks.com . Resize your browser after clicking the link :)

because people click more the right-most column content.

good point:thumbsup