Obama wins Nobel peace prize

[CaptainPanic]

Obama has won the Nobel peace price.

 

So, did he win it because of the foreign policies, which did change the way America acts towards other countries in the last 9 months, and admittedly improved the relations with many countries.

 

Or did he win because the nobel prize committee wants to support Obama in a time when he is having a hard time?

 

I think it's quite fast for him to win this prize. He's only been in office for 9 months... I think he should be rewarded after he has finished at least a 4-yera period in office.

[Severian]

It is a complete ****ing joke that utterly undermines any authority and worth of the Nobel Peace Prize. When someone first linked me to it, I was expecting the link to go to The Onion.

[Mokele]

Y'know, I'm as far-left as it gets without using the word "comrade" is daily conversation, and I also think it's a load. First they give it to Gore for a powerpoint (as opposed to, say, the actual scientists who've worked on GW), now to Obama before he's really even accomplished that much?

[Pangloss]

Wait wait, the Nobel Peace Prize is politically motivated? No way! Say it ain't so, Alfred!

 

Maybe the Nobel Committee just felt sorry for Conservative Talk Radio not having much to talk about this week. Or maybe they wanted to feed them something that would distract them from the upcoming congressional health care debates.

 

This quote says it all:

 

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate.

 

"This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.

 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iAekET4T1D_vzDMN4JW_xZyvgezAD9B7HUHO0

[john5746]

Wait wait, the Nobel Peace Prize is politically motivated? No way! Say it ain't so, Alfred!

 

You also have to consider who didn't win - one is Hu Jia. Maybe some don't want to irritate China?

[Sisyphus]

I can't find anyone who thinks this was a good idea. I think that's very important to keep in mind.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Y'know, I'm as far-left as it gets without using the word "comrade" is daily conversation, and I also think it's a load. First they give it to Gore for a powerpoint (as opposed to, say, the actual scientists who've worked on GW), now to Obama before he's really even accomplished that much?

 

At least Gore shared his with the IPCC scientists.

 

But really. I could see doing this three years from now when it's possible to see Obama's contributions to world diplomacy and their effects on the world. But after nine months of presidency? Really?

 

edit: interesting linkage: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/10/09/nobel-committee-member-nuclear-disarmament-efforts-won-obama-the-prize/

Edited October 9, 2009 by Cap'n Refsmmat

[gre]

Who do you think deserved this prize?

[Sayonara]

Perhaps they extrapolated an Obamagram for the next three and a half years and determined that if they left it too long, the Nobel Peace Prize would be insufficient.

[bascule]

Isn't the Nobel Peace Prize something you get for... doing something significant to contribute to world peace? What did Obama do, exactly?

 

The Nobel Committee said it decided to honor Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

 

Did I miss something? Maybe it's just a bunch of meetings I didn't really care about that added up? I don't get it.

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When someone first linked me to it, I was expecting the link to go to The Onion.

 

"America Celebrates Obama's Peace Prize by Bombing the Moon"

[Pangloss]

And missed!

 

Dick Cheney wouldn't have missed hitting THE MOON. Of course he would have also hit three asteroids, a CNN satellite and a picket of environmental activists along the way.

[Sisyphus]

The Moon will be Obama's Vietnam.

[DJBruce]

My question is what was his nomination based on. Nominations were sent out sometime in September and were due back no later than January 31, 2009. So when nominations were due, President Obama had only held office for 11 days, and the only really important thing he had done was promise to close Gitmo within a year.

 

I am not saying that President Obama has not begun to take foreign relations in a new direction, I just feel that awarding him the Nobel Prize seems premature.

[Severian]

It will be particularly ironic if he now orders the 'surge' in Afghanistan.

[iNow]

Here's a statement he put just a short while ago:

 

 

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

 

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

 

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

 

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

 

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

 

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

 

Thank you,

 

President Barack Obama

 

 

I think that even he thinks it's inappropriate, which is funny. Too bad this will simply be more ammo against him used by the nutters.

 

On the other side of that coin, it serves as a nice international counter-balance to the ridiculousness like people trying to impeach him for "the fact that he seems to have, it seems to me, some malevolence toward this country, which is unabated."

[padren]

I guess stating "we won't do things Bush's way anymore" is worth a lot these days.

 

 

I think Obama is a great candidate for the prize in that he could end up winning it one day, but this really is premature. I am glad for the direction he's taken, the principles he's outlined for the most part... but it's not called the "Nobel Speech Prize" for a reason and really some sort of accomplishments should be in order before handing the thing out. Having great ideas or ideals don't mean a damn thing if you can't reconcile them in the real world, and he has some ways to go to prove he can do that.

[Pangloss]

I think it's interesting that the Nobel Committee has changed political tactics and opened up about its ideological agenda. In the past they've denied that ideology has played a part in their decision, and people who accused them of having one (like me) were scoffed at and called right-wingers. Now they brag about it.

 

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/10/the_nobel_committee_comes_clea.html

 

The confession of political motive should be no surprise following the Nobel committee's behavior during the Bush administration, when the peace prize was regularly handed to fierce opponents of the president --from Jimmy Carter to Al Gore to Mohammed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

 

In those cases, though, the committee denied that its intentions were political. Now Jagland doesn't mince words. "We have to get the world on the right track again," the New York Times quoted him as saying. "Look at the level of confrontation we had just a few years ago. Now we get a man who is not only willing but probably able to open dialogue and strengthen international institutions."

 

The significance of this is debatable -- how can a peace prize not be political to some degree? But there are many ways to go about achieving peace, and legitimizing one path over others is a dangerous decision, especially with a weak decision that looks like form over substance.

 

Like I said back in 2005, if they like this agenda so much then the committee should go chuck a couple of its medals on Neville Chamberlain's grave.

 

(BTW I know I'm not around much at the moment. Real life's putting me through the wringer at the moment (but all's well). Hopefully I'll have more time to read & post soon!)

[bascule]

Probably should've posted this here, but apparently because of this, Obama is going to make it snow.

[iNow]

An interesting piece from Thomas Friedman. He essentially wrote the speech which he thinks Obama should deliver in Oslo this December.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11friedman.html

Here is the speech I hope he will give: <

keep reading

>

[Severian]

An interesting piece from Thomas Friedman. He essentially wrote the speech which he thinks Obama should deliver in Oslo this December.

 

That would be ironic; giving the Nobel prize to someone who doesn't deserve it, only for him to dedicate it to the soldiers instigating aggressive expansionist wars.

[bascule]

According to one representative of the Nobel award committee, the award was given "primarily for his work on and commitment to nuclear disarmament":

 

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1929553,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

 

...although I still think nuclear disarmament is a worthwhile goal, unlike the article states.