The Romance of Business Travel, and Other Myths at the NYT, includes this gem:
MOST UNWELCOME SURPRISE After being picked up at the airport in Damascus, John Denson, an international lawyer in Houston, felt something hard near his feet. It was an Uzi. He asked the driver if it was his, “and he replied that he had his own, and that one was mine, ‘just in case we need it,’ ” Mr. Denson said. “It is amazing how little room a Mercedes has in the back seat when you’re trying to avoid touching a loaded Uzi.”
Secretly Ironic 