Places I'm Not About To Visit Any Time Soon

After seeing the film Blood Diamond last night, I am adding Sierra Leone to the list of countries I am not about to visit any time soon. It joins Brazil, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Uganda.

All of these places have made my personal "do not visit" list for various reasons, not all of them sensible (and I acknowledge that right off the bat). For instance, the film City of God made me think twice about going to Brazil. I'm sure there's a lot of the film that's exaggerated and there's more to Brazil than favelas and 10 year olds wielding 9mms, but I'm not in any hurry to find that other stuff out. Call it minimalization of risk.

Of course, some of the other ones I am just avoiding because, well, there's a general Anti-American sentiment prevalent there (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan) not to mention a concerted military effort either overtly or otherwise in the works (same). It's not generally wise to put one's self into a conflict zone unless you've got a gun and a reason to be there.

UPDATE: And if you needed one more reason not to visit Brazil, apparently they are cruel to fat, er, obese, people.