July 11, 2003
A bit of advice.
Take my advice: Do not cut a dozen jalapenos without wearing gloves. Just don't. If you do, you'll be very sorry. I did, and I'm sorry.
While I recover, take a look at G.'s photos from Baghdad and read Salam Pax's latest Guardian column. The most striking part of that column was this bit:
The next thing was getting into Basra and being stopped at the checkpoint. One soldier in a floppy hat waving his hand for you to slow down, and when you lower the window he actually greets you with "al salamu alaikum". That got him some appreciative giggles - imagine that happening in Baghdad.
Unfortunately, that kind of thing should be happening in Baghdad. It isn't because the people who are in control don't know what they are doing. The soldier's haven't been trained for this duty and their leaders (Bremer and his cohorts) are incompetent.
Salam also has something interesting to say about "blood money" and how the British dealt with the deaths of two innocent men. Funny, it's hard to imagine the Americans knowing or caring anything about the local customs, much less actually following through on something like that.