taking a deep breath...

i don't know why i don't just shut down the google reader. i really should. i have been tooling around while i ate- i know, i know but i have to multitask- and in the span of less than 5 minutes i have been inundated with sadness, frustration, bewilderment and disbelief. killing, environmental disaster, disease, water and food shortages and woes, and the usual political bullshit. and then- i ran across this gem:

and please, don't wonder why the rest of the globe hates america- i don't think it has anything to do with democracy

"Llewellyn Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles-based holding company for private equity firms, is pouring millions of dollars into developing the “Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience.” In pitching his Disneyland idea to a deputy Baghdad mayor, Werner – displaying little sense for Iraqi culture – said the waterpark is “integral to the sex appeal” of the new amusement center. Speaking in deliberately slow English, Werner told the Iraqis, “One of the fastest growing sports in the world is skate…boarding.” NPR’s Eric Westervelt reported:

After explaining skate…boarding, Werner tells the assembled Iraqi business and government men, “I’m a businessman. I’m not here because I think you’re nice people. I think there’s money to be made here.”