Fat Farm

Ah, it's always good to see key members of the Iraqi government doing their part to stabilize the country. From The Gulf Daily News:

BAGHDAD: Tired and battling obesity, Iraqi President JALAL TALABANI flew to the US yesterday for rest and help in tackling his weight problem. Talabani, in his early 70s, left from the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya in northeastern Iraq for a trip that could take several weeks.

His office denied local media reports that Talabani was suffering from any specific illness and said he was in general good health apart from his weight.

"I don't have any health problems except my obesity and I will treat it, God willing," Talabani said.

I once saw a show on rock climbing where the host advised people to train before they climbed. "Every pound you lose is a pound you don't have to drag up the mountain," the host said. Iraq is a little different, every inch you lose is an inch they can't shoot.

Seriously though, at $2 billion a week, couldn't we afford to throw in some fucking Jenny Craig Tuscan Beef Florentines?

Found via Juan Cole