Democrats Abroad New Zealand
5.31.2007
Anti-War Mom Sheehan Gives Up Her Protest (CNN.com)
POSTED: 11:23 a.m. EDT, May 29, 2007
(CNN) -- Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son was killed in Iraq, declared Monday she was walking away from the peace movement.
She said her son died "for nothing."
Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.
While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.
But in a Web diary posted to the liberal online community Daily Kos on Monday, Sheehan said she was exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll of the past two years.
She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."
Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in an April 2004 battle in Baghdad. His death prompted his mother to found Gold Star Families for Peace.
But in Monday's 1,200-word letter, titled, "Good Riddance Attention Whore," Sheehan announced that her son "did indeed die for nothing."
(More ... CNN > News > U.S.)
(CNN) -- Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son was killed in Iraq, declared Monday she was walking away from the peace movement.
She said her son died "for nothing."
Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.
While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.
But in a Web diary posted to the liberal online community Daily Kos on Monday, Sheehan said she was exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll of the past two years.
She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."
Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in an April 2004 battle in Baghdad. His death prompted his mother to found Gold Star Families for Peace.
But in Monday's 1,200-word letter, titled, "Good Riddance Attention Whore," Sheehan announced that her son "did indeed die for nothing."
(More ... CNN > News > U.S.)
Labels: CNN, Iraq, Peace, Sheehan
¶ 21:26 0 comments
NZ Ranked No. 2 in World Peace Survey (NZHerald.co.nz)
5:00AM Thursday May 31, 2007
New Zealand has been placed second behind Norway in an inaugural Global Peace Index launched in London overnight.
The Economist Intelligence Unit was commissioned by a group of businessmen, academics and peace institutions to rank 121 nations according to their relative state of peace.
The index was comprised of 24 indicators, ranging from a nation's level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights.
"New Zealand's lofty position in the Global Peace Index (GPI) partly reflects its lack of internal and external conflicts and its very good relations with neighbouring countries, namely Australia and fellow member states of the Pacific Island Forum," the GPI reports says.
The report said New Zealand's diplomatic and economic links with Australia had been underpinned since 1983 by the Closer Economic Relations agreement.
It said the nation's political scene was stable and the index gave New Zealand very low scores on the likelihood of violent demonstrations and the number of homicides.
"However, violent crime is higher than in Norway and the number of jailed population is considerably higher than the four Nordic nations surveyed."
The report noted New Zealand's military expenditure as a percentage of GDP was low and notably lower than Australia.
"New Zealand's ability to play a security role within the Pacific region was nevertheless demonstrated in July 2003, when it sent 35 policemen and 230 military personnel to the Solomon Islands as part of a 2225-strong Australian led peacekeeping force."
(More ... New Zealand Herald > News > National) ¶ 08:06 0 comments
New Zealand has been placed second behind Norway in an inaugural Global Peace Index launched in London overnight.
The Economist Intelligence Unit was commissioned by a group of businessmen, academics and peace institutions to rank 121 nations according to their relative state of peace.
The index was comprised of 24 indicators, ranging from a nation's level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights.
"New Zealand's lofty position in the Global Peace Index (GPI) partly reflects its lack of internal and external conflicts and its very good relations with neighbouring countries, namely Australia and fellow member states of the Pacific Island Forum," the GPI reports says.
The report said New Zealand's diplomatic and economic links with Australia had been underpinned since 1983 by the Closer Economic Relations agreement.
It said the nation's political scene was stable and the index gave New Zealand very low scores on the likelihood of violent demonstrations and the number of homicides.
"However, violent crime is higher than in Norway and the number of jailed population is considerably higher than the four Nordic nations surveyed."
The report noted New Zealand's military expenditure as a percentage of GDP was low and notably lower than Australia.
"New Zealand's ability to play a security role within the Pacific region was nevertheless demonstrated in July 2003, when it sent 35 policemen and 230 military personnel to the Solomon Islands as part of a 2225-strong Australian led peacekeeping force."
(More ... New Zealand Herald > News > National) ¶ 08:06 0 comments
U.S. Ranks Low, Just Above Iran, in Peace Index (AlertNet.org)
30 May 2007 16:47:40 GMT
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to a new index released on Wednesday that evaluates 121 nations based on their peacefulness.
According to the Global Peace Index, created by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation in the world and Iraq is the least, just after Russia, Israel and Sudan.
"The objective of the Global Peace Index was to go beyond a crude measure of wars by systemically exploring the texture of peace," said Global Peace Index President Clyde McConaghy.
He said the inaugural effort proves "peace can and has and will continue to be measured."
The index was compiled based on 24 indicators measuring peace inside and outside of a country. They included the number of wars a country was involved in the past five years, how many soldiers were killed overseas and how much money was made in arms sales.
Domestic indicators included the level of violent crimes, relations with neighboring countries and level of distrust in other citizens.
The results were then reviewed by a panel of international experts.
"We were trying to find out what positive qualities lead to peace," said Leo Abruzzese, the North American editorial director of the intelligence unit that is part of The Economist Group that publishes the well known magazine.
(More ... Reuters > AlertNet) ¶ 08:03 0 comments
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to a new index released on Wednesday that evaluates 121 nations based on their peacefulness.
According to the Global Peace Index, created by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation in the world and Iraq is the least, just after Russia, Israel and Sudan.
"The objective of the Global Peace Index was to go beyond a crude measure of wars by systemically exploring the texture of peace," said Global Peace Index President Clyde McConaghy.
He said the inaugural effort proves "peace can and has and will continue to be measured."
The index was compiled based on 24 indicators measuring peace inside and outside of a country. They included the number of wars a country was involved in the past five years, how many soldiers were killed overseas and how much money was made in arms sales.
Domestic indicators included the level of violent crimes, relations with neighboring countries and level of distrust in other citizens.
The results were then reviewed by a panel of international experts.
"We were trying to find out what positive qualities lead to peace," said Leo Abruzzese, the North American editorial director of the intelligence unit that is part of The Economist Group that publishes the well known magazine.
(More ... Reuters > AlertNet) ¶ 08:03 0 comments
