Obama wins the Noble Peace Prize

[Drew]

2009

The prize goes to:

BARACK OBAMA for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

I don't think much more needs to be said to spur some discussion.

Thoughts?

[Bastard Brigade]

The Noble has all the luster of the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box after they handed one to the butcher Yasser Arafat.

This smacks of the cult of Obama. People are confusing his charisma and oratorical skills with real action. So far as I can see, he hasn't accomplished much, and I would hardly call his efforts "extraordinary". I can't see how they could have made this decision so rapidly with Obama being in office for only 10 months. What a joke.

[AYHJA]

I would bet much of what goes on with this isn't public knowledge...

I'm a pretty smart guy, a pretty informed guy, and if you asked me to name 5 Nobel Peace Prize winners in the past 15 years, I couldn't...That said, I'm glad that it went to Obama, contrary to the idea that he hasn't done much, he also hasn't done anything to the contrary...Why not give it to him as far as I'm concerned...I'm proud of it...

[luvbugin]

I was reading an article on this that said it was for his "promise" to do whatever and that it was definitely premature. He hasn't done squat.

[AYHJA]

He hasn't done squat.

Compared to ____________ who won the nobel in _______________ after they __________________ ...I don't see why everyone is so quick to hop out and say he hasn't done anything, doesn't seem fair...Maybe he hasn't been jailed without just cause, or gotten his ass whipped for no reason, but I doubt anyone can say with certainty that he hasn't done any profound humanitarian work in the many countries his been to, or even in the streets on the south side of Chicago...His humility isn't an acknowledgment of incompetence, don't know why they're jumping on him for that either...He's our President, we should be proud of him, yeah..?

The Nobel website says he was given the award "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" I didn't see anything about promise or potential...Unless someone wants to dispute the reason given with reason, again, I'm proud and happy for him and us as a country...

[Drew]

Yeah that's the most unsettling thing I've noticed in all of this. I'm a college student, so I'm always on facebook, and therefore I'm subject to all of the bullshit people spew about this... but I just don't understand why people can't be proud of our damn country, and that our President won the award.

It's just an example of all of this unsettled feelings and (probably covert racism) opinions going on.... If any other President won this award, we'd be happy about it...but so many people are quick to point out what he hasn't done...

I'm just sickened by people's lack of country pride, regardless of if you like the President or not.

[raum]

Compared toMartti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2008after they forced a cease-fire order through and prevented hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo from being systematically slaughtered. ... after being so instrumental to the prevention of further violence that he was made an honorary citizen... and getting Finland to join the U.N. and serving as its president.



fixed that for you.

Several years, no one was awarded the prize without significant action before - even without there being criticism of their action as well, and the funds were redirected. 2009 should be no exception. This is a cash prize, and from the letter of his will, Nobel's prize should not yet be awarded to Barack Obama. People forget, this is a part of a once-living man's estate, and part of his will. It doesn't mean anything, if it is not kept to the integrity of his criteria. There is no one who can say Barack Obama has earned this yet. IT is with "Hope" that it is awarded him.

[raum]

It says nothing of us as a country. It only says the standards are inclusive of aspirations, not achievements.

It only says that his executors are lax in their analysis. You know the selection process was concluded two weeks before he was even in office. Tell me that ain't rigged!

"during the preceding year [...] shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Really, Obama did the most? And yet he is not scaling back standing armies, and his work was specifically that of candidacy.

As for national pride, I deem myself proud of my nation, and anxious to see a man of presidential calibur arise, but if Obama can truly say he DID THIS more than any other - the MOST or the BEST WORK?>> then he definitely lacks that calibur.

I feel weak in the knees you guys don't see he didn't deserve this. Look at people in war torn countries, toiling and dying for the peace we award him. There were 205 candidates, and he was hardly the most suited. He should recognize that, politely decline, and say "next year, I look forward to being back up on this stage and accepting this award, and saying "thank's I earned it!"

[AYHJA]

In the most respectful way possible my friend, I'm gonna have to say that's bullshit... :D Your remarks are overly critical, assuming, very relative, and not even in the spirit of the award anyway...

Obama can truly say he DID THIS more than any other - the MOST or the BEST WORK

Would MLK have said this..? Did he do the most for civil rights, or was he just the face of it..? Did you know MLK did not even invite Rosa Parks to his Nobel ceremony..? What Nobel winner can make such a statement..? Did MLK deserve that award more than say, Medgar Evers..? C'mon now...This me you're talking to...

Basically, all I'm saying is this...Before now, few really cared...And by care, I mean passion...If you have even known what day they give out the Nobel prior to now, you could probably win substantial amount of money on a game show making use of random information...Interested does not mean cared...I was glad when Gore won it, but I didn't care...I said, Good for him, those documentaries were awesome...NO...BODY...CARED...

Nobody, well maybe except you, lol, gave a good damn about the Nobel before this...Shit raum, you wanted Tookie to win the Nobel Peace Prize, you should have used him in that example instead of Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari, certainly would have made for a more interesting argument in terms of who has done what...

When Al Gore won the Nobel a couple years ago, I bet we won't find nary a disparaging remarks...

No, no, when Al Gore won it, everyone seemed proud of him...Al Gore is not a frickin scientist....He didn't discover a gaping hole in the Ozone layer, compound a massive chemical to blast into the atmosphere to combat it...He did some good things in the way of getting people to take climate change seriously...And I know that's over simplifying shit, but in a nutshell, that's what he did...He didn't pioneer anything in that field...He used his massive resources to being it to an international attention front...Somewhere, there is a panel that deserved that credit, but Gore got it...And he did the right thing...

That we should think less of our president, the only person in the fuggin' room to cast a vote for NO to go to war in Iraq isn't at least small testament to his character and mindset when it comes to peace, I don't know what is...You say he didn't scale back the army, he didn't want the army to be there in the first place...

There are tons of people getting shit everyday and not earning any of it...I have gotten things I didn't feel I deserved, but be damned if I gave them back...Someone whom I assume has no special interest in doing so, decided that Barak Obama deserved this award for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"...If Barak can't get it, then who..? Why does Barak have to say, "DID THIS more than any other"..? Who else got the Nobel said that..? Who else that got the Nobel CAN say that..?

Again, I don't know how you argue with the reason they gave, but whatever...The best guy on a good or the best team every year gets the MVP award for putting up big numbers...But a far more valuable player on a team not as good gets shitted on ever year...Perhaps you're on to something raum, maybe we should start a website point out all the folk who get fucked over in this manner...

I don't know Politics and things of this nature...I know sports...I know that I don't think Steve Nash should have won back to back MVP's when Kobe had never won one...I can rattle off statistics out the ass, other players, candidates, instances, head to head matchups...I don't need to Google anything...I can say with good reason, why I don't think Steve should have gotten or deserved the award...Now, honestly...How many people that have an opinion on this can do the same..? I mean really, who fuggin' cares..? He's donating the prize money to charity, I bet that they care...That's cash they wouldn't have had otherwise...But nooooooooooooooo...We hatin' on Obama..? C'mon now, admit it, this stinks...

This is all I'm saying...Help me out...How did this get to be a big deal, when its never been a big deal before..? The average person, fuck that 9 out 10, myself included, cannot name 10 persons that have EVER won a Nobel Peace prize...But so many people are saying Barak "doesn't deserve it" its making my fucking head spin..! I don't get it...It is pure, unprecedented hate...Whereas you might have a valid response raum based on knowledge and history of the award, you are one of few...It's crazy...

Instead of taking the time to learn about the Nobel Prize, some of its history, people are just talking out the side of their neck...Many people arguing that he hasn't done anything wouldn't know what it would take to win the award anyway...

[raum]

Hey Ty,

MY Criticism is that he got it early. HE DID NOT FULFILL HIS VISION YET. He was awarded this for reasons that simply don't make sense. This is seriously premature. I am not saying there won't be a day when he won't earn it. I am saying this was given him to encourage him to conform to his idealistic peace process.

Peronally, since Tookie was overlooked, I have lost a lot of faith in this award. I don't mention him much, because tutoring out in Oakland, I met lots of bloods and crips, trying to get their lives on track. His story is still one of the most compelling of our time. I didn't even know Obama got it. And to me, that he gave it to charity is a no-brainer. HE CAN'T KEEP IT. He's president, there's rules. Besides, noone ever keeps it, they usually send it to someone more deserving and less well known who was nominated. I am not saying it is a unique experience that someone less deserving got the award, I am saying it has happened before. LOTS.

As for who I feel should get it. They haven't released the other 204 candidates. So, I can't tell you who I feel might have been more suited. Personally, without seeing this list, I feel it should go to Prince Ghazi BinMuhammed who held the first inter-faith dialogues with HAMAS and Israel and which led to lots of avoidance of bloodshed, and who also allowed for the downsizing of US forces in the area ; THE ONLY significant troom downsizing anywhere in the globe. It's kinda no-brainer, if you ask me. After being threatened with death for about 10 years, and being a interfaith religious leader in the area - he has GREATLY helped end violence upon and by Palestinians and Lebonese dissdents and terrorists.

Another contender is, oh perhaps, the G8 - the largest summit for peace and fraternity in human history. But that would include GWB - who people would never stand getting an award usurped by liberals drunken on self-importance.


Face it, Obama dared to speak of a world with a full nuclear stand-down. They gave him the prize to lend weight to that vision, and to pressure him to work with it.