Posted on 05/23/2006 3:37:56 AM PDT by Aussiebabe
Tuesday May 23, 04:43 PM Aussie-US ties puzzling: US activist The mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq says she is puzzled by Prime Minister John Howard's alignment with US President George W Bush, whose policies she describes as "devastating the world".
Prominent anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan made international headlines when she camped outside Mr Bush's Texas ranch after her son Casey was killed in 2004. Visiting Australia as a guest of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Ms Sheehan said she couldn't understand Mr Howard's continuing close relations with the US president.
"It disappoints me but it also puzzles me, because George Bush isn't even popular in America anymore," she said.
"I don't know why any leader of any country would want to align themselves with George Bush.
"(Mr Bush) is not popular here, he's certainly not popular in America, and his policies are devastating the world."
Ms Sheehan, who arrived in Sydney on Tuesday, will speak at Sydney University on Tuesday night before addressing a peace conference in Melbourne later this week.
"I'm here to rally the Australian people to work with us for peace," Ms Sheehan said.
"Now, we all have to stand up for what we believe in and not just say we're against it, but stand up and be counted with the majority who want the occupation to end."
The activist was welcomed to Sydney by NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus, who urged her detractors to walk in her shoes.
"Those people who seek to criticise parents of a child who has died, let alone one who has died in a war, should just walk a mile or two in their shoes," Mr Debus said.
"Cindy is a very brave and passionate woman."
Ms Sheehan, who has been dubbed "Peace Mom", said she had received death threats since beginning her campaign.
"But I found out on April 4, 2004, (the date of her son's death) there's worse things than dying," she said.
"One thing worse than dying is burying your oldest child, so the death threats and personal attacks don't bother me."
She said the coalition's occupation of Iraq was both illegal and immoral.
"My country is fighting a war of aggression, illegally occupying a country that is no threat to America, or Australia, holds no WMDs (weapons of mass destruction), no ties to al-Qaeda or to the person responsible for September 11."
PLEASE feed her to a hungry kangaroo. (They eat vegetables, right?)
Sorry mate...but with all that's gone on with her over the last coupla years...that line just won't fly.
Her name should be changed from"Peacemom" to "Crazy Cindy".
Yeah, she cares so much that she couldn't bother to get him a gravestone.
"It disappoints me but it also puzzles me, because George Bush isn't even popular in America anymore," she said."
More popular than Cindy Sheeham!
"(Mr Bush) is not popular here, he's certainly not popular in America, and his policies are devastating the world."
It seems as though I saw a guy on Fox this morning stating that world-wide deaths via armed confict are lower than almost anytime in the last century.
Funny how the media, in general, seem to not notice that minor non-trivial point eh?
One more thing, do you think you can introduce her to a Great White? Maybe she'll start to understand then....
"One more thing, do you think you can introduce her to a Great White?"
Probably just spit her back out. ;-P
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