Reality Check

Not long after putting up this post, I was trolling around planet blog and hit Salam Pax's neighborhood. Pax, a Baghdad photographer for Newsnight, presents the shocking reality of Baghdad today where you can be killed for sporting a goatee, wearing a "colorful" shirt or having the wrong last name. A sample "mild" entry:

One of my parents’ friends house was robbed last week. It’s a
big house but they are both retired and they don’t really have much, which
really pissed off the 6 armed men who barged into the house late that
night.

While the house was being ransacked they found the couple’s
passports. Chief-thief threw it at them and asked a VERY wise question: “When
you two have passports can you tell me what you are still doing here?”

I ask myself the same question almost everyday. And clearly
answering “this is home” really isn’t cutting it anymore.

Go to the homepage and scroll down a bit to his May 16 entry for a shocker (sorry, no direct link). And to think that my mind's on Margaritas and swimming pools. Bloody hell.