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| Iraq |
| Baghdad Draws Peaceniks of All Shapes and Sizes |
| 2003-02-21 |
| What do a priest, Miss Germany, a spiritual healer and a diehard communist all have in common? Uh, brain damage? They have made their way to Baghdad to try to stop a U.S.-led war on Iraq, employing various skills and talents, ranging from diplomacy to spiritual healing, soccer to fashion. Like I said, brain damage. Baghdadis, who have not seen such a diverse influx of foreigners for many a year, are both amused and bemused. "Look, Ali, freaks!" "I am a Reiki master, look it up on the Internet," said Peter van Dyke, who drove a London cab to Baghdad with another 100 "human shields" following in double decker buses. "It is through achieving higher knowledge or spiritual consciousness, or rei, that we are able to properly guide our life energy, ki, to create positive results and affect positive and personal and global change," declares the one Web Site devoted to the reiki healing technique. (long toke)"Wow, dude, that's deep!" (exhale) Mainstream spirituality has also made its presence felt. Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, special envoy of Pope John Paul II, met with President Saddam Hussein last week to try to avert war. Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of Russia's Communist Party, saw Saddam on Wednesday. Old friends? Rudulpho Tucci is an Italian farmer from Anzio who teamed up with a Canadian housewife to found the Bridges to Baghdad group. Tucci is pursuing peace with his dog, a Saint Bernard. German pacifists have recruited brains and beauty to the cause. Miss Germany arrives on Thursday and is due to hold a press conference at al-Rashid hotel, which has been bursting at the seams with a bizarre crowd of journalists and celebrities. Bet the bar staff is on double shifts. Spanish pacifists chose football to spread their message, playing the Mustansiryah University team and drawing 5-5. Typical soccer game Not to be outdone, the Iraqis showed they too have style. The Iraqi Fashion House staged a show on Wednesday with models displaying costumes inspired by five civilizations that inhabited Mesopotomia before Christ. "We convey history and we do it enthusiastically," said Hanan, one of the models to the background beat of Babylonian music. It's just like Woodstock, with JDAMS. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #10 Metaphysics,way cool dude. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-02-22 06:54:39 |
| #9 What kind of a jerk takes his dog into that sort of thing? |
| Posted by: aa 2003-02-22 00:02:23 |
| #8 Actually I kind of like the "shield" idea: 1.) it gets the crazies out of our country; and 2.) maybe they can be human shields for the opposition in Iraq. Either way, it is a little like classic darwinian selection - the elimination of the stupid and incompetant. |
| Posted by: John 2003-02-21 21:30:29 |
| #7 Going to Baghdad has become the cool thing to do, just so they can say "Dude, I did my part, man". But the part that will show that they really care about the Iraqi people is when they will scatter like roaches when the action begins. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-02-21 12:43:17 |
| #6 A Reiki master huh? Where's your light saber then??? |
| Posted by: JDR 2003-02-21 12:09:13 |
| #5 Hey Van Dyke - that "reiki master" bullshit may play in Peoria, but the locals over there tend to take a dim view of moronic new-age religions. They call it "blasphemy" and cut your stupid head off for it. Of course, in most such cases, the head wasn't being used anyway. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-02-21 11:01:38 |
| #4 vanDyke is an idiot. One of the most important lessons from my Reiki teacher was there is a time for death. The story went like this: She and several others knew someone who suffered a serious heart-attack. They worked together to keep the person alive. Whether or not it was a result of their efforts, the person did 'live'. Unfortunately, the person had suffered enough brain damage that 'life' was as a vegetable, with no hope of ever regaining consciousness. The same logic applies to cancerous tissues. If you seek for health of the cancerous tissues, the worst that can happen is that your wishes will be granted. Death is built into every cell of our body in the form of the p53 enzyme and the process of apoptosis. Cells choose to die rather than destroy the whole body. When they fail to choose death, we call it cancer. The cancerous cells must then have death forced upon them. This obsession with life at any cost is just as sick, if not more so, than an obsession with death. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-02-21 10:12:23 |
| #3 Helluva lot easier to get in there then it probably will be to get out. I don't think you'll see Marine choppers landing on roofs to whisk them to safety after it starts. Should've thought this through, folks. It's not some 60's ha-ha game. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-02-21 10:07:45 |
| #2 Human shield to Iraqi bystander: "I just came from Great Britain on a hair-raising journey of great peril in this double-decker bus to save your country!" Iraqi bystander: "You better go back to your driver. He gives out the medals." |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-02-21 10:02:46 |
| #1 No, Steve. A typical soccer game is 0-0 after two overtimes. I am a Reiki master OK, but if you can't levitate, don't bother me. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-02-21 09:48:28 |