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Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize !?!
Posted by husdal • 10/09/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Barack Obama, nobel peace prize
It has just been announced:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.
nobelpeaceprize.org/
First reactions?
Personally, I'm absolutely flabbergasted.
User Comments
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Why would you be?
Have you actually watched what he has done? Those he have challenged - the principals he stands for?
He actually deserves it - I'm surprised - but - I actually think he deserves it.-
I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it. He certainly does. I'm just utterly surprised...and delighted. He is an inspiration to many, and he will be even more so now. He's done a lot for international cooperation in his short 9 months in office and the world will expect him to do more now, and I'm sure he really will.
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Ah. OK - cool... Flabbergasted usually means "not liking it" --- totally shocked at how uncool something is Or Totally not expected, not in a good way. (At least in my mind if I say I'm flabbergasted it means I'm upset about something and shocked at the same time.)
I mean - the actual definition of it probably means just shocked... But when I use that word - it has a negative connotation.
LOL.
Semantics.
I think that it was a good choice on the basis that he has REALLY tried to bring the world together - with his foreign relations at this point.
I'd like to see what he will be able to accomplish - but nevertheless - for what he has done so far - this doesn't shock me.
It was interesting - but out of the possible choices - he was a good pick... (Not that I know who the others were, mind ya... LOL!)
ANYHOW - when you wrote this - I did think that you meant it in a negative kinda way... SO THANK YOU for clarifying that!
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hmm...-
haha, the sorcerer seems unimpressed... -
I replied to your comment.
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This is awesome! I've written about it here, husdal, you're credited because it's this thread that inspired me for the post
theiratedog.blogspot.com/2009/10/barack-obama-is-awarded-nobel-peace.html-
Thanks for the credit. It just so happens that I am Norwegian and I always watch the announcement from the Norwegian Nobel Committee live on TV (it's a really big media event here), and this year's announcement really took me by surprise. Obama has talked the talk, now he really has to walk the walk. I bet he can.
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Great post, Iratedog. I left a comment on your blog.
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Anyone nominated for the no-bell puppet prize? -
Our saviour
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"I know my sheep,
And my sheep know me,
And so does the lamb chop company..." -Slightly adapted from John 10. -
who are you calling a puppet? -
YOU!
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I'm glad to see somebody getting that prize who actually deserves it for a change. Obama is great and everything, but it would be nice if they started giving it out to people who are actually engaged in the day to day business of making peace instead of bureaucratic figureheads whose peacemaking efforts are little more than a rubberstamp for what is allowed by corporate interests.
I understand that Obama's rhetoric has profound impact, but what concrete things has Obama done to actually contribute to world peace? Has he ended either of Americas wars? Has he shut down Gitmo?
So far his contribution to world peace has only been symbolic. Nevertheless, it's quite a step up from Al Gore.-
umm.. Al Gore is actually quite the activist campaigning for climate and what not.. and he lasted 2 full terms as a Vice president and several years a politician so he actually had some body of work to be judged upon, not to mention his contribution in taking Arpanet to Internet(at least in the policy making side) which is a boon to people all over the world.. that definitely makes him more deserving than Obama(at this point) -
Al Gore may have a body of work that is better known than Obama's, but mere possession of a body of work does not warrant a Nobel peace prize, especially considering that his body of work has been much more about personal enrichment than helping others. Between a pseudo-scientific documentary, a for-profit tv network, crazy ideas about weather machines, and a hypocritical lifestyle that he justifies with carbon credit bull, there isn't a lot there to warrant a "peace" prize.
Al gore never actually *did* anything. Don't tell me his uneventful eight years as Veep warrant such an honor,because they don't. All he did was "invent the internet" and not get impeached. Obama has done a lot more by just winning the presidency, something Gore didn't have the chutzpah to fight for.
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nope..just that i was thinkin..has he done enough?
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Absolutely ridiculous, it was already devalued by them giving it to Al Gore as a consolation prize. Now they give it to a man currently engaged in two wars of aggression against sovereign nations.
It's so Orwellian it's not funny any more. -
Nobody deserves it more!-
Really? How about those people involved in microfinance? How about all those missionaries in Africa? How about that President of Columbia whose done such a fine job bringing drug violence to a close and bringing development to his country? How about Boris Yeltsin for keeping a cool head and preventing what could've been the worse nuclear accident in history in 1994? How about Deng Xiaoping for finally making China prosperous? How about the Sunni Awakening tribal chiefs in Iraq who brought actual peace to not only Iraq, but probably the nations near it long-term? How about people who have been awarded nowhere near the power that Obama has been given but have actually done something with it?
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Unbelievable as in, ridiculous. All President Obama has done is make a few speeches. Completely undeserving of this award.-
I am in absolute agreement with you dailybeer. Also if you check the Nobel prize site - nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/process.html it states that "The Committee bases its assessment on nominations that must be postmarked no later than 1 February each year". What the hell had Obama done by Feb 1st (only a few weeks into his presidency) that would warrant the prize??? What has he done since then? -
yep,it's too early to award him the prize he haven't shown his capabilities through action but only shown through his words thats not enough!!
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Other Nobel categories are often awarded to people for achievements years after the fact, often with impacts across science or culture that were never dreamed of at the time, e.g. novels that have become hugely influential, science that has led to later breakthroughs. Obama may be making a huge contribution to world peace - I'd certainly like to think so and it's good to see some new direction in US politics - but surely it's a bit early to tell?-
What contribution? He hasn't done anything!
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Congratulation to Obama.... -
he deserves it but he has to do more to confirm. sometimes academy awards for stimulation of future plans. -
He might deserve it in 5 years, more likely in 20 years, but now? Seems like there might be people who have actually been out there doing things for decades who deserve it more. -
uuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you're kidding me right? That's it - I'm moving to Canada. -
As he is making plans for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan I am surprised but I think that previous holders of the office make him seem like Gandhi. -
What's interesting is that he was nominated for it shortly after his term began. If you think about his popularity in February -- it's a lot different than now. He was riding high then, so his nomination is more understandable.
But I think a president winning this so early in his term is a little premature.
The reasons that are cited are a return to multilateralism, a commitment to peace in the mideast, and his working to reduce nuclear proliferation. Those are all good reasons.-
I agree. The fact is that while it's taken a monumental effort to make a small difference and he deserves credit for that, the impact thus far is small and it remains to be seen how it will end. This choice seems to reduce the Nobel Prize to something on the level of an Emmy...it really should require more enduring substance. -
I agree with both of you. It's a case of Time Will Tell, and I think all this has done is serve to over-emphasize the continuing perception of Obama's "celebrity status."
It doesn't serve him well at this juncture, nor does it do anything for the reputation of the prize itself.
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I'M THRILLED. -
I don't understand how he gets it though. If you pull the troops out of Iraq or Afghanistan, the world will be a whole lot unsafer in the future. Obamas vision only works in the perfect world, where everyone is good. I don't understand people. -
What a joke! Did he get it for refusing to meet with the Dalai Lama? Refusing to show the pictures of torture done by his military? Siding with the Bush Administration on warrant-less wiretapping? Maybe he can send a drone over to pick up his award.-
Let's not forget that Obama kept many of the terror programs that Bush created.
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Obama has not achieved anything yet. If I was to give the nobel peace prize to an American, it would be one of those microfinance people or someone actually achieving something in the world.
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I cant believe that I am actually agreeing with JeremyJanson for once..
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And unsurprisingly I completely disagree. Are you seriously saying that becoming president is not achieving anything? That's absurd.
Also microlending still has a lot of problems, it is not time to call a victory there. According to a study It is apparent thus that by participating in a
microcredit programme, non-poor enterprising households may increase their labour supply up to a level that ultimately benefits poor labourers" but "almost one-third of labourers hired by loan-supported (and non-poor) enterprising households were suffering from extreme deprivation." www.bwpi.manchester.ac.uk/resources/Working-Papers/bwpi-wp-10309.pdf -
@diablocomix: If it's so absurd tell me what he's done. As for microlending, I would suggest that in these countries you speak of, those hired as a result of microlending are only as severely deprived as everyone else hired for those same jobs in that country. Hiring more only raises the price of new labor.
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He's president! QED
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My first reaction was: It must be April Fool's Day.
Not that I think the president doesn't have it in him but no one even knew that he was nominated. There was no talks, to my knowledge, of Obama being nominated. -
In all modesty, I think he deserves it. Not so much for the achievements, but for his vision, signaling a change how America views the world. Premature? Perhaps, but he has instilled a hope for a better future in many people around the world. If anyone can pull this off, it is Obama. Being the president of the presumably most powerful nation in the world, he has all the means in the world. Hopefully the prize will make him think twice about how the uses these means.
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You've got it exactly right. -
A lot of people have a vision for a better world but they don't get the award.
How about the other people who were nominated but where passed over for Obama? How about Simi Samar, an Afghan woman’s rights activist, or to fellow nominee Chinese dissident Hu Jia, who was given a three-year jail sentence for speaking out against China’s harsh government?
I think these people deserve it more than the president.
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Awards are pretty silly things. And considering Henry Kissinger once won it, the Nobel Peace Prize is the silliest of them all.-
The last person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize to actually deserve it was Nelson Mandela.
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When the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the head of a country, isn't it really awarded to everyone in the country?
Maybe we could look at it as something to aspire to instead of a plaque to hang on the wall. -
For???? -
um, he definitely does not deserve it he didn't do shit yet.. if you can win a nobel peace prize based on things you want to do I'm waiting for my shit in the mail!-
Constipation, uh
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I walked outside this morning....I want my Prize, it means nothing. -
I think this clip from SNL pretty much sums up my feelings! Obama has done NOTHING to "earn" this award. He has goals and dreams and that's fine. I think in this case this was a classic case of counting your chickens before they hatched. Obama's chickens should have hatched before he was given such an award.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT5Kl38fSVY -
This is good for The USA.
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