Posted on 07/24/2006 9:43:51 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Peace prize winner 'could kill' Bush Annabelle McDonald 25jul06
NOBEL peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren.
Campaigning on the rights of young people at the Earth Dialogues forum, being held in Brisbane, Ms Williams spoke passionately about the deaths of innocent children during wartime, particularly in the Middle East, and lambasted Mr Bush.
"I have a very hard time with this word 'non-violence', because I don't believe that I am non-violent," said Ms Williams, 64.
"Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.
"I don't know how I ever got a Nobel Peace Prize, because when I see children die the anger in me is just beyond belief. It's our duty as human beings, whatever age we are, to become the protectors of human life."
Ms Williams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 30 years ago, when she circulated a petition to end violence in Northern Ireland after witnessing British soldiers shoot dead an IRA member who was driving a car. He veered on to the footpath, killing two children from one family instantly and fatally injuring a third.
Ms Williams's petition had tens of thousands of Protestant and Catholic women walking the streets together in protest. Now the former office receptionist heads the World Centres of Compassion for Children International, a non-profit group working to create a political voice for children.
"My job is to tell you their stories," Ms Williams said of a recent trip to Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
While brave what those women did - crossing religous lines to work together - they certainly were not the first. There is a rich history, dating back hundreds of years, of Protestants helping Catholics fight for more rights.
Where is the disconnect?
These women were not campaigning to help Catholics have more rights (whatever that means.) They joined together - Catholic and Protestant - to help stop the violence.
Not quite the same thing.
She doesn't even appreciate the irony. For the record, while Hussein was in power, he was responsible for the deaths of about 1.3 million innocent human beings. That's over 4,500 per month.
I expect Kofi Annan should be getting one of those peace prizes, based on the criteria they're using lately.
:') Maybe not a cousin, but a fellow traveller, or co-conspirator, or...
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