Monday, March 24, 2003
One-minute Oscar commentary: Halle Berry's dress inspired me in my fight against Iraq. Is Keanu Reeves retarded? Is it in bad taste to make a joke about Robert Blake shooting his wife to a room full of people who presumeably know him? Please tell me Daniel Day Lewis wasn't fucking crying after U2 played. Michael Moore is a fat douchebag: why did he start yelling? It made him look like an idiot. My favorite smug Hollywood moment occured when the editor of Chigaco thanked its director, Rob Marshall, for his "vision" and they cut to Marshall in the audience, whispering, "you're welcome." God, that was so self-important and beautiful, I almost cried. I actually thought it was pretty cool Adrian Brody won Best Actor. I mean, he's my age, all the other nominees had won before (they all looked genuinely happy for him, except for Michael Caine), and it was his first nomination. I felt sort of bad for Brody during his speech, though: if I looked down from my podium to see Richard Gere nodding his head in sanctimonious agreement, I'd seriously reconsider what I was saying. And I thought it was a nice touch they did Best Actress in a later and more prestigious spot than Best Actor. Small, nice gesture. And I didn't see nine out of ten of the nominated films, so I have no opinion on the winners or nominees.
Friday, March 21, 2003
This article is hilarious. I love the idea of one of those Oregon anarchist kids sitting in a war room with an Iraqi official. Boy, the look on those Iraqi officials faces must be priceless.
Human shields await bombs in Baghdad
From anarchists to Quakers, they've followed their principles to put their lives on the line with the civilians of Iraq
Baghdad -- The ultimatum issued by President Bush on Monday dramatically increases the chance that Faith Fippinger may die in the next few days.
Fippinger, a 52-year-old retired schoolteacher is one of about 90 "human shields" who are putting their bodies on the line in front of potential U.S. bombing targets in Iraq.
Since early February, the Sarasota, Fla., native has slept every night at the Daura oil refinery, a huge complex at the southern edge of Baghdad that supplies the entire metropolitan region with gasoline and other fuels. In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the refinery was destroyed by U.S. missiles, and it burned for a month and a half.
Fippinger expects another attack.
"I may die here," she said calmly. "But my death is no more or less important than the Iraqi lives that will be lost -- for example, my neighbors, who live next to the refineries, a woman who brings in tea every morning."
Then Fippinger broke into tears.
Together with other human shields from the United States and elsewhere, Fippinger hopes her body might yet clog the gears of war.
But while Pentagon planners reportedly want to avoid bombing civilian infrastructure targets, Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. commander of the military campaign, has said potential targets would not necessarily be spared just because of the presence of human shields.
The volunteers are organized loosely by Human Shields, a London organization that is an ungainly conglomeration of 23 nationalities, mostly Europeans and Turks, along with six Americans.
The organization has been riven with dissension. Last month, the Iraqi government expelled five of its leaders after a dispute over which sites would be guarded by the volunteers. The group's leaders wanted to position shields at sites such as hospitals, while the government proposed sites it viewed as more strategic, including military installations. Other shields have returned home and denounced the Iraqi government as repressive.
'SOME FRUITCAKES AMONG US'
"We have a bad impression of the human shields. Some of them are crazy," said an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official, who requested anonymity.
"Yes, there are some fruitcakes among us," said Marc Eubanks, a Wyoming native and Air Force veteran who now lives in Athens, Greece. He was referring to some anarchists, who he said could provoke major culture clashes with Iraqi officials at joint meetings.
"But nobody can tell me that we haven't been an outstanding success," said Eubanks, who has been living at the Dura Electrical Power Plant, which supplies a third of Baghdad's electricity and was bombed in the Gulf War. "We were poorly organized, but we lurched forward."
The Bush administration has said little about the human shields. In February, a State Department spokeswoman responded to a reporter's question about why they were in Iraq by saying, "You might as well ask me why moths fly into porch lights."
NUMBERS UNCERTAIN
It is unclear exactly how many foreign activists are in Iraq, because even at this late date, many are still entering and leaving the country. But organizers estimate there may be about 120 to 150 activists in Baghdad when the U.S. attack starts.
Although the human shields are under no obligation to remain once the war begins, most say they will stay put even when the bombs start falling.
For the American activists, a lingering question is: What happens if they survive the war? Once they return to the United States, will they be prosecuted under the U.S. Patriot Act for supporting the enemy?
"The truth is, I'm more afraid of what the Americans would do if they caught me," said Eubanks. "The Americans will probably make Camp X-ray here and put me in it," he said, referring to the U.S. POW camp in Guantanamo, Cuba,
that is holding accused al Qaeda members.
As a U.S. war draws ever closer, the disappointment felt by the remaining activists is palpable.
"More than a letdown, it's a catastrophe, a huge punishment heaped on innocent people," said Kathy Kelly, the coordinator of Voices in the Wilderness, an activist group with headquarters in Chicago and London.
In recent months, Voices in the Wilderness and other U.S. groups, most of whom share Voices' origin in liberal Catholic, Quaker and other religious groups, have held many vigils in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.
TENSIONS AMONG GROUPS
Kelly hinted at the subtle tension between her organization and Human Shields. While Voices in the Wilderness and other Western activist groups have accepted no aid from the Iraqi government, lodging and food expenses for the human shields has been paid for by the regime.
"We don't want to be under the propaganda wing of the party," said Kelly. "We are independent."
"I respect the human shields," but I wouldn't want to be taking anything from the government," said Charlie Liteky, a San Franciscan who is a member of Voices in the Wilderness. Liteky won the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1968 for his work as an Army chaplain in Vietnam, when he pulled 22 wounded soldiers out of a firefight against the Viet Cong.
"But in the end, we're all waiting for the same bombs," Liteky said. "And we may be in the same jail together after the war."
Human shields await bombs in Baghdad
From anarchists to Quakers, they've followed their principles to put their lives on the line with the civilians of Iraq
Baghdad -- The ultimatum issued by President Bush on Monday dramatically increases the chance that Faith Fippinger may die in the next few days.
Fippinger, a 52-year-old retired schoolteacher is one of about 90 "human shields" who are putting their bodies on the line in front of potential U.S. bombing targets in Iraq.
Since early February, the Sarasota, Fla., native has slept every night at the Daura oil refinery, a huge complex at the southern edge of Baghdad that supplies the entire metropolitan region with gasoline and other fuels. In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the refinery was destroyed by U.S. missiles, and it burned for a month and a half.
Fippinger expects another attack.
"I may die here," she said calmly. "But my death is no more or less important than the Iraqi lives that will be lost -- for example, my neighbors, who live next to the refineries, a woman who brings in tea every morning."
Then Fippinger broke into tears.
Together with other human shields from the United States and elsewhere, Fippinger hopes her body might yet clog the gears of war.
But while Pentagon planners reportedly want to avoid bombing civilian infrastructure targets, Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. commander of the military campaign, has said potential targets would not necessarily be spared just because of the presence of human shields.
The volunteers are organized loosely by Human Shields, a London organization that is an ungainly conglomeration of 23 nationalities, mostly Europeans and Turks, along with six Americans.
The organization has been riven with dissension. Last month, the Iraqi government expelled five of its leaders after a dispute over which sites would be guarded by the volunteers. The group's leaders wanted to position shields at sites such as hospitals, while the government proposed sites it viewed as more strategic, including military installations. Other shields have returned home and denounced the Iraqi government as repressive.
'SOME FRUITCAKES AMONG US'
"We have a bad impression of the human shields. Some of them are crazy," said an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official, who requested anonymity.
"Yes, there are some fruitcakes among us," said Marc Eubanks, a Wyoming native and Air Force veteran who now lives in Athens, Greece. He was referring to some anarchists, who he said could provoke major culture clashes with Iraqi officials at joint meetings.
"But nobody can tell me that we haven't been an outstanding success," said Eubanks, who has been living at the Dura Electrical Power Plant, which supplies a third of Baghdad's electricity and was bombed in the Gulf War. "We were poorly organized, but we lurched forward."
The Bush administration has said little about the human shields. In February, a State Department spokeswoman responded to a reporter's question about why they were in Iraq by saying, "You might as well ask me why moths fly into porch lights."
NUMBERS UNCERTAIN
It is unclear exactly how many foreign activists are in Iraq, because even at this late date, many are still entering and leaving the country. But organizers estimate there may be about 120 to 150 activists in Baghdad when the U.S. attack starts.
Although the human shields are under no obligation to remain once the war begins, most say they will stay put even when the bombs start falling.
For the American activists, a lingering question is: What happens if they survive the war? Once they return to the United States, will they be prosecuted under the U.S. Patriot Act for supporting the enemy?
"The truth is, I'm more afraid of what the Americans would do if they caught me," said Eubanks. "The Americans will probably make Camp X-ray here and put me in it," he said, referring to the U.S. POW camp in Guantanamo, Cuba,
that is holding accused al Qaeda members.
As a U.S. war draws ever closer, the disappointment felt by the remaining activists is palpable.
"More than a letdown, it's a catastrophe, a huge punishment heaped on innocent people," said Kathy Kelly, the coordinator of Voices in the Wilderness, an activist group with headquarters in Chicago and London.
In recent months, Voices in the Wilderness and other U.S. groups, most of whom share Voices' origin in liberal Catholic, Quaker and other religious groups, have held many vigils in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.
TENSIONS AMONG GROUPS
Kelly hinted at the subtle tension between her organization and Human Shields. While Voices in the Wilderness and other Western activist groups have accepted no aid from the Iraqi government, lodging and food expenses for the human shields has been paid for by the regime.
"We don't want to be under the propaganda wing of the party," said Kelly. "We are independent."
"I respect the human shields," but I wouldn't want to be taking anything from the government," said Charlie Liteky, a San Franciscan who is a member of Voices in the Wilderness. Liteky won the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1968 for his work as an Army chaplain in Vietnam, when he pulled 22 wounded soldiers out of a firefight against the Viet Cong.
"But in the end, we're all waiting for the same bombs," Liteky said. "And we may be in the same jail together after the war."
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Holy shit, some ha-ha funny shit on The Comics Journal Message Board. The players are Bobby London, underground cartoonist, Ariel Bordeaux, a cartoonist, and Fantagraphics Books co-publisher Kim Thompson:
Bobby London: I didn't intend to repeat myself or bring this thread back to the original topic but
this time around, what's good for Mickey
Mouse is good for cartoonists everywhere.
Considering how artists still get treated
by society (not to mention by other artists),
I see no shame in their descendants reaping
benefits from their efforts especially if
they themselves never see such benefits in
their lifetimes. If they do, so much the better but, last time I looked, the cliche'
still holds. For every Mozart, there's a
Salieri with spade in hand and publishers
tend to treat the Salieris of the world with
equaniminity.
Bobby London: P.S. Feminists hate guys who have their shit
together.
Ariel B.: Hey Bobby, can you explain that last sentence? Because it totally offends me, and I think you are pro rape.
Bobby London :"Having your shit together" in the hippie handbook meant merely being able to take care
of yourself and meet your personal responsiblities, not losing your marbles
and committing sexual assault. Where in the previous post did I use the "r" word?
In the event this is not a joke, it goes like
this: my experience has been that radical feminists didn't like guys who had careers,
preferred to have them around for pedicures. That's all I meant.
Kim Thompson: Ariel Bordeaux 2, Bobby London 0. I've rarely seen a more elegant deflection of a male-chauvinist-pig rant, and Ariel gets the extra point because Bobby completely missed the irony.
A person less kind than me might ask how a cartoonist would have any first-hand knowledge of feminists' distaste for men with careers.
Bobby London: I didn't intend to repeat myself or bring this thread back to the original topic but
this time around, what's good for Mickey
Mouse is good for cartoonists everywhere.
Considering how artists still get treated
by society (not to mention by other artists),
I see no shame in their descendants reaping
benefits from their efforts especially if
they themselves never see such benefits in
their lifetimes. If they do, so much the better but, last time I looked, the cliche'
still holds. For every Mozart, there's a
Salieri with spade in hand and publishers
tend to treat the Salieris of the world with
equaniminity.
Bobby London: P.S. Feminists hate guys who have their shit
together.
Ariel B.: Hey Bobby, can you explain that last sentence? Because it totally offends me, and I think you are pro rape.
Bobby London :"Having your shit together" in the hippie handbook meant merely being able to take care
of yourself and meet your personal responsiblities, not losing your marbles
and committing sexual assault. Where in the previous post did I use the "r" word?
In the event this is not a joke, it goes like
this: my experience has been that radical feminists didn't like guys who had careers,
preferred to have them around for pedicures. That's all I meant.
Kim Thompson: Ariel Bordeaux 2, Bobby London 0. I've rarely seen a more elegant deflection of a male-chauvinist-pig rant, and Ariel gets the extra point because Bobby completely missed the irony.
A person less kind than me might ask how a cartoonist would have any first-hand knowledge of feminists' distaste for men with careers.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
The thing I liked about the current eps of Angel, especially last week, is they've done a really good job re-introducing Faith. In fact, even though Faith has been on the show once before, for all purposes, she's been introduced as a new character, especially since most of the cast has never heard of her before. So, you get a good sense of her history, without a lot of exposition. I think I'd be enjoying it even more if I had never heard of Faith before in my life. When Buffy appeared on the first season, they were really lazy about it, rather than imbuing Buffy as someone from Angel's past, and dealing with her as back story, they just relied on the continuity from another show. The way they've treated Faith is like how they treated Darla: we knew Darla sired Angel, and we knew he killed her. Admittedly, that was all there was to Darla at that point. And even more admittedly, I just watched the Faith episode from the first season of Angel where they made major trade of the similarities of Faith's redemption to when Angel gained his soul, and Darla was in that, in I think was her first appearance on Angel (nope, her second, never mind).
I get the sense that even though they're denying plans for a Faith series, the current run on Angel sure as hell seems like what a Faith The Vampire Slayer show would be like. A lot more brutal.
Compare Faith fighting Angel to when Buffy fought Angel in her second season. Jesus. Okay, now when you watch the old Buffy episodes, you can see Angel's stunt double is bald and Buffy's is a fat guy, and the new Angel-Faith fights are totally ripping off Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but man, there's just some brutal shit going on. Buffy and Angel just weren't even trying. Maybe it was characterization: Angel was real big on tormenting them for a while, but just killing them right quick in the actual fight. Maybe Faith is just more of a badass and needs more of a beat down. It was funny how they gave the fanboys a Faith-in-the-shower scene, but made it so horrible nobody could get turned on. I mean, is it just me, or does Sarah Michelle Gellar look cuter with a bruised face? I'm amazed how thay've taken Eliza Dushku's slutty cheerleader features and actually made her look like a girl whose been doing time.
Other comments on the show: I dislike Connor. I dislike fat Cordelia. I dislike Cordelia letting Connor put his greasy mitts all over her. When will it end? And how about the karaoke demon getting added to the credits? Go Lorne!
I get the sense that even though they're denying plans for a Faith series, the current run on Angel sure as hell seems like what a Faith The Vampire Slayer show would be like. A lot more brutal.
Compare Faith fighting Angel to when Buffy fought Angel in her second season. Jesus. Okay, now when you watch the old Buffy episodes, you can see Angel's stunt double is bald and Buffy's is a fat guy, and the new Angel-Faith fights are totally ripping off Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but man, there's just some brutal shit going on. Buffy and Angel just weren't even trying. Maybe it was characterization: Angel was real big on tormenting them for a while, but just killing them right quick in the actual fight. Maybe Faith is just more of a badass and needs more of a beat down. It was funny how they gave the fanboys a Faith-in-the-shower scene, but made it so horrible nobody could get turned on. I mean, is it just me, or does Sarah Michelle Gellar look cuter with a bruised face? I'm amazed how thay've taken Eliza Dushku's slutty cheerleader features and actually made her look like a girl whose been doing time.
Other comments on the show: I dislike Connor. I dislike fat Cordelia. I dislike Cordelia letting Connor put his greasy mitts all over her. When will it end? And how about the karaoke demon getting added to the credits? Go Lorne!
Friday, March 07, 2003
I have a couple Ebay auctions that end this Sunday. Seeing as how I have nothing else to say, please feel free to bid on these great collectibles, and take them off my hands. I won't tell you what they are. Just look! And bid! Please...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1573&item=2513004542&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3969&item=2162872093&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1573&item=2513004542&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3969&item=2162872093&rd=1
My friend Erin Norlin's art is featured on the front page of www.seattlesucks.com. I don't really care for her style in the piece, but I like promoting her. If you have feedback for her you can post it there. In fact, do go to that forum and terrorize the chimps.
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
I have just received the strangest email. Am I weird for thinking this could be porn? Or it may be some innocuous Asian culture group? Am I wrong being equananimous with either option?
=================================
Hello,
I've added you to my teamomni group at Yahoo! Groups, a free,
easy-to-use email group service. As a member of this group, you
may send messages to the entire group using just one email address:
teamomni@yahoogroups.com. Yahoo! Groups also makes it easy to
store photos and files, coordinate events, and more.
Here's a description of the group:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
click to go to :::teamomni.net:::
click to visit our :::teamomni.forum:::
WARNING: change your club e-mail settings when joining, simply go
to "Edit My Membership" and then to "Message Delivery" and click on
"Special Notices"... promoters/editors/casting agents (bookings): business@teamomni.net
omnigyrlz (above l-r): julie, nicole, ruby, and shayla
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's my introductory message for you:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
welcome to our Yahoo! clubhouse @ teamomni...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO START SENDING messages to members of this group, simply send email
to teamomni@yahoogroups.com
If you do not wish to belong to the teamomni group, you
can unsubscribe by replying to this message, or by sending an email to
teamomni-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Regards,
Moderator, teamomni
SPECIAL NOTE FROM Yahoo! Groups: Because Yahoo! Groups values your privacy,
it is a violation of our service rules for moderators to add subscribers
to a group against their wishes. If you feel this has happened, please
notify us at abuse@yahoogroups.com
P.S. If you would like to learn more about the teamomni group,
please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teamomni
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
===========================================
Um, it's a models message board. How do I belong to this club.
=================================
Hello,
I've added you to my teamomni group at Yahoo! Groups, a free,
easy-to-use email group service. As a member of this group, you
may send messages to the entire group using just one email address:
teamomni@yahoogroups.com. Yahoo! Groups also makes it easy to
store photos and files, coordinate events, and more.
Here's a description of the group:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
click to go to :::teamomni.net:::
click to visit our :::teamomni.forum:::
WARNING: change your club e-mail settings when joining, simply go
to "Edit My Membership" and then to "Message Delivery" and click on
"Special Notices"... promoters/editors/casting agents (bookings): business@teamomni.net
omnigyrlz (above l-r): julie, nicole, ruby, and shayla
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's my introductory message for you:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
welcome to our Yahoo! clubhouse @ teamomni...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO START SENDING messages to members of this group, simply send email
to teamomni@yahoogroups.com
If you do not wish to belong to the teamomni group, you
can unsubscribe by replying to this message, or by sending an email to
teamomni-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Regards,
Moderator, teamomni
SPECIAL NOTE FROM Yahoo! Groups: Because Yahoo! Groups values your privacy,
it is a violation of our service rules for moderators to add subscribers
to a group against their wishes. If you feel this has happened, please
notify us at abuse@yahoogroups.com
P.S. If you would like to learn more about the teamomni group,
please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teamomni
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
===========================================
Um, it's a models message board. How do I belong to this club.
Bought more art. My next acquisitions will be given to me. That I swear.
Carrie Whitney is an art director at Fantagraphics Books. For the past two years, I've bid on her work at a local art auction, at SOIL, to no avail. So I just emailed her and bought a couple pieces. I think her work is really interesting and fun, although I'm concerned that someone who works at the world's premier art comic publisher would create a piece featuring a Star Wars Destroyer Droid.
All hail Carrie Whitney!
Carrie Whitney is an art director at Fantagraphics Books. For the past two years, I've bid on her work at a local art auction, at SOIL, to no avail. So I just emailed her and bought a couple pieces. I think her work is really interesting and fun, although I'm concerned that someone who works at the world's premier art comic publisher would create a piece featuring a Star Wars Destroyer Droid.
All hail Carrie Whitney!
Sounds like Laurence of Arabia: "Shut up you minion, you (U.S.) agent, you monkey. You are addressing Iraq," Ibrahim said. "You are insolent. You are a traitor to the Islamic nation," he spat out as Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani tried to shut him up.
Islamic Summit Rocked as Iraq Slams Kuwait
By Ghaida Ghantous
DOHA, Qatar (Reuters) - Bitter enmity between Iraq (news - web sites) and Kuwait erupted in a vitriolic name-calling match on Wednesday at an Islamic summit meant to unite the voices of the world's one billion Muslims against war.
In a clash caught on live television before the Qatar state broadcaster shut down transmission, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s top aide Izzat Ibrahim departed from his text to zero in on the Kuwaitis sitting across the conference chamber.
"Shut up you minion, you (U.S.) agent, you monkey. You are addressing Iraq," Ibrahim said. "You are insolent. You are a traitor to the Islamic nation," he spat out as Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani tried to shut him up.
A Kuwaiti delegate responded that the insults were "the words of an infidel and a charlatan," as the two sides shouted and gesticulated angrily at each other.
Key U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait, which is publicly grateful to Washington for leading a coalition that liberated it from Iraqi occupation in 1991, is hosting thousands of U.S. Army and Marine forces in preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah told reporters the clash proved that only the voluntary exile of Saddam and his leadership could avert war.
This step was "the only thing and the miracle that can end this matter and the miracle is in the Iraqis' hands," he said.
Muslim leaders had hoped the emergency summit of the 56-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) would send a clear message opposing an attack on Iraq.
But no new initiatives to halt the drive toward war were discussed, and the summit only agreed a broad statement on Iraq which said diplomacy should be given more time.
The written statement was not read on Qatar television, which only broadcast general closing remarks.
"Islamic countries would not participate in any military action which targets the security and territorial integrity of Iraq or any Muslim country," the statement said.
In fact, several Gulf states plus OIC member Turkey host U.S. forces and bases which would be used in an attack on Iraq. As Muslim leaders flew out of Doha, U.S. heavy transport aircraft were flying in, continuing the military buildup.
Only a quarter of OIC members sent their heads of state to the one-day gathering, the latest in a series of top-level Muslim or Arab gatherings called at short notice in a desperate but so far unavailing bid to halt the slide to war.
RELIGION UNDER THREAT, SAYS IRAQ
Ibrahim, second-in-command of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council told the members of the world's largest Islamic grouping that they were all at risk from "the reckless and foolish United States" and said Baghdad expected "concrete steps to support Iraq against this tyrant."
"There should be a point-blank refusal of any aggression and no help should be given to this enemy... We hope Islamic nations can face the challenge that is before them," he said.
"In the face of this bitter reality, we must rally our forces and the foremost condition for our success is joint Muslim action," Ibrahim added. "We must not allow anyone to break our ranks or religion will be wiped out and our territories placed under foreign control."
Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri again rebuffed proposals that Saddam go into exile to avert war, telling reporters it was President Bush (news - web sites) who should "step down and leave other people to live in peace."
"Any call for stepping down should be asked to Mr. Bush. He is causing his people and his country to be hated all over the world, isolated all over the world, becoming Public Enemy Number One all over the world."
OIC Secretary General Abdelouahed Belkeziz said the Islamic nation "with all its political weight, power and resources" could make its voice heard if it was united and sincere.
But recent Arab and Muslim summits on the Iraq crisis have been marred by arguments and initiatives lost in dispute.
"I think the Arab and Islamic world is divided because we do not know what we want to do," Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani told the summit's closing news conference. "We do not speak with a single voice."
Islamic Summit Rocked as Iraq Slams Kuwait
By Ghaida Ghantous
DOHA, Qatar (Reuters) - Bitter enmity between Iraq (news - web sites) and Kuwait erupted in a vitriolic name-calling match on Wednesday at an Islamic summit meant to unite the voices of the world's one billion Muslims against war.
In a clash caught on live television before the Qatar state broadcaster shut down transmission, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s top aide Izzat Ibrahim departed from his text to zero in on the Kuwaitis sitting across the conference chamber.
"Shut up you minion, you (U.S.) agent, you monkey. You are addressing Iraq," Ibrahim said. "You are insolent. You are a traitor to the Islamic nation," he spat out as Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani tried to shut him up.
A Kuwaiti delegate responded that the insults were "the words of an infidel and a charlatan," as the two sides shouted and gesticulated angrily at each other.
Key U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait, which is publicly grateful to Washington for leading a coalition that liberated it from Iraqi occupation in 1991, is hosting thousands of U.S. Army and Marine forces in preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah told reporters the clash proved that only the voluntary exile of Saddam and his leadership could avert war.
This step was "the only thing and the miracle that can end this matter and the miracle is in the Iraqis' hands," he said.
Muslim leaders had hoped the emergency summit of the 56-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) would send a clear message opposing an attack on Iraq.
But no new initiatives to halt the drive toward war were discussed, and the summit only agreed a broad statement on Iraq which said diplomacy should be given more time.
The written statement was not read on Qatar television, which only broadcast general closing remarks.
"Islamic countries would not participate in any military action which targets the security and territorial integrity of Iraq or any Muslim country," the statement said.
In fact, several Gulf states plus OIC member Turkey host U.S. forces and bases which would be used in an attack on Iraq. As Muslim leaders flew out of Doha, U.S. heavy transport aircraft were flying in, continuing the military buildup.
Only a quarter of OIC members sent their heads of state to the one-day gathering, the latest in a series of top-level Muslim or Arab gatherings called at short notice in a desperate but so far unavailing bid to halt the slide to war.
RELIGION UNDER THREAT, SAYS IRAQ
Ibrahim, second-in-command of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council told the members of the world's largest Islamic grouping that they were all at risk from "the reckless and foolish United States" and said Baghdad expected "concrete steps to support Iraq against this tyrant."
"There should be a point-blank refusal of any aggression and no help should be given to this enemy... We hope Islamic nations can face the challenge that is before them," he said.
"In the face of this bitter reality, we must rally our forces and the foremost condition for our success is joint Muslim action," Ibrahim added. "We must not allow anyone to break our ranks or religion will be wiped out and our territories placed under foreign control."
Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri again rebuffed proposals that Saddam go into exile to avert war, telling reporters it was President Bush (news - web sites) who should "step down and leave other people to live in peace."
"Any call for stepping down should be asked to Mr. Bush. He is causing his people and his country to be hated all over the world, isolated all over the world, becoming Public Enemy Number One all over the world."
OIC Secretary General Abdelouahed Belkeziz said the Islamic nation "with all its political weight, power and resources" could make its voice heard if it was united and sincere.
But recent Arab and Muslim summits on the Iraq crisis have been marred by arguments and initiatives lost in dispute.
"I think the Arab and Islamic world is divided because we do not know what we want to do," Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani told the summit's closing news conference. "We do not speak with a single voice."
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
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