Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

[RichD]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: britisha</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Didn't Moshe Dayan receive the prize also? </div></div> no

[queenb]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: H_O</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> cuz hes black. </div></div>
Why is he black? Isn't he also 1/2 white? Chatabout.



<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Humano</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Norwegians give it, in this case, for the &quot;promise&quot; of some accomplishment? </div></div>

Like I said, it's like accepting an Oscar now for the Oscar-winning film you'll create soon. </div></div>

Actually this is not the first time an award was given in advance of fait accompli.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*]1978 Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, Middle East Peace --has it been achieved yet? <ul style="list-style-type: disc">[*]1984 Desmond Tutu, end of appartheid, which did not occur for 10 years, 1994[*]1994 Yassir Arafat, Shimon Perez--Mid East Peace[/list][/list]

[Seveen]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: _______</div><div class="ubbcode-body">they gave it to him because they cannot award it posthumously...an him have a high chance of being bumped off before accomplishing anything noteworthy... </div></div>


i had an epithany about why obama picked joe biden for vp - NO ONE - wants joe biden to be president - security issue resolved

[Seveen]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

this is what the norwegian committee said:

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama <span style="font-weight: bold">for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.</span> The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President <span style="font-weight: bold">created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.</span> The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that <span style="font-weight: bold">&quot;Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.&quot;</span>

Oslo, October 9, 2009

[mountaingal]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

seveen, it's amazing how people seh dem wonder why im get it and don't go to the source, the people who gave it to him and were very open with their reasons. all of a sudden now everybody a second guess the peace prize committee, just because it's obama.

[23JAM00]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

This annoys me to no end. Second guessing the Committee

He's given the world HOPE. Something we haven't seen in years.

[St_Bess]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize


Here's an e-mail I received from the President on the day the announcement was made:
================================================== ==========
St_Bess:

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

[Derek]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nanceejay</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He's given the world HOPE. Something we haven't seen in years. </div></div>

I don't see any HOPE. It's just a buzzword that's ideal when running for office.

All I see is another US president, who just happens to be a bit on the dark side.

[neutral]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nanceejay</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He's given the world HOPE. Something we haven't seen in years. </div></div>

I don't see any HOPE. It's just a buzzword that's ideal when running for office.

All I see is another US president, who just happens to be a bit on the dark side. </div></div>

I kinda have to agree with you,so far obama hasnt done anything,or taken any action to inspire hope,....admittedly he is more polite to other world leaders but thats about it,....wherever there were discord,inequality,and conflicts in the world there still is,......heck,...he cant even tell the israelis to give back palestinian lands,....infact by the looks of it they dont give a toss what he thinks about their land grab and their war crimes.......HOPE......what for ....?

I am beginning to think that as a black president its very symbolic,...but the rest is similar to the empire's new clothes.

[Amberal37]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nanceejay</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He's given the world HOPE. Something we haven't seen in years. </div></div>

I don't see any HOPE. It's just a buzzword that's ideal when running for office.

<span style="font-weight: bold">All I see is another US president, <span style="text-decoration: underline">who just happens to be a bit on the dark side</span></span>. </div></div>

An enormous understatement here. <span style="font-weight: bold">Let us not bother to think what this sentence would
mean - had it been stated 40 years ago </span>

[Derek]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: amberal37</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nanceejay</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He's given the world HOPE. Something we haven't seen in years. </div></div>

I don't see any HOPE. It's just a buzzword that's ideal when running for office.

<span style="font-weight: bold">All I see is another US president, <span style="text-decoration: underline">who just happens to be a bit on the dark side</span></span>. </div></div>

An enormous understatement here. <span style="font-weight: bold">Let us not bother to think what this sentence would
mean - had it been stated 40 years ago </span> </div></div>

<span style="font-weight: bold">I would rather deal with what it means TODAY.</span>

He went to Africa and made it clear that he didn't come to help Africans. Just like every other US president, his mind is elsewhere.

[Amberal37]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

<span style="font-weight: bold">I would rather deal with what it means TODAY.</span> </div></div>

Well...today it addresses &quot;perceptions&quot;

There is no physical or legal repression, but there is that which is retained through miseducated perceptions.

Today - Black people should be followed around more in stores because they have less money to spend on expensive things and they are more likely to steal them.

Today - black people who run black countries will run them into the ground - because they are too stupid to understand economics.

Today - Black dolls should not be glorified in fairytales to live in big houses, if they do they must be whores and they can never be pretty enough anyway.

Today - Black children will get lower grades in schools because, as I said, black are more stupid and will never do good in school.

Today - Black people are great in sport - magnificant athletic prowess, but they haven't got the mental discipline to run a business, much less to run a state.

So Obama is just another one who comes from one of those black people...

I think that Obama HAS achieved much as president, and I don't think his achievement are any less that what a white president's would be...but if he only achieves the SAME performance as a white president, I will give him extra props for doing so under the extra pressure that is on him!!!

[Derek]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: amberal37</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

<span style="font-weight: bold">I would rather deal with what it means TODAY.</span> </div></div>

Well...today it addresses &quot;perceptions&quot;

There is no physical or legal repression, but there is that which is retained through miseducated perceptions.

Today - Black people should be followed around more in stores because they have less money to spend on expensive things and they are more likely to steal them.

Today - black people who run black countries will run them into the ground - because they are too stupid to understand economics.

Today - Black dolls should not be glorified in fairytales to live in big houses, if they do they must be whores and they can never be pretty enough anyway.

Today - Black children will get lower grades in schools because, as I said, black are more stupid and will never do good in school.

Today - Black people are great in sport - magnificant athletic prowess, but they haven't got the mental discipline to run a business, much less to run a state.

So Obama is just another one who comes from one of those black people...

I think that Obama HAS achieved much as president, and I don't think his achievement are any less that what a white president's would be...but if he only achieves the SAME performance as a white president, I will give him extra props for doing so under the extra pressure that is on him!!!
</div></div>

I don't see how your 'Today - Black people...' has anything to do with Obama, or if there would be any difference to black people's social standing if he were white - which is exactly the point I was trying to make.

I haven't seen any Obama achievements either - perhaps he hasn't been president long enough to accomplish any.

[Amberal37]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Derek</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I don't see how your 'Today - Black people...' has anything to do with Obama, or if there would be any difference to black people's social standing if he were white - which is exactly the point I was trying to make.

I haven't seen any Obama achievements either - perhaps he hasn't been president long enough to accomplish any. </div></div>

Believe whatever you will - that's your right, but for sure Obama is not a saint, he is not a saviour, he is a man who is in an office that has due process.
Short of taking all the riches in America and plonking it in Africa, I don't think that many black people will see that he has achieved much, and short of taking the rest of gold outside of Africa and plonking it in Europe/America, I don't think that many white people will see that he has achieved much either.

I've worked with enought black kids to know that many would laugh in my face up to a year ago if anybody told them that there would be a black president in America. Yes it has moved the goalpost now, but it does not undermine the achievenment that has been made by Obama, or atleast it is no longer a laughable proposition to a black (or white) person.

When he improves further the economy, then it's another milestone to add....if he gains another term, then it's even more to add, and if he obtains middle-east peace, then more...I personally think that his work for Africa can come AFTER he has completed his presidency and puts his experience to task.

If he were to do /attempt more in Africa, no doubt many would find a way to accusing him of helping Europeans(America) to further colonise Africa.

I will retire my case here.

[johnnycakes]

Re: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

Here's Howard Zinn's take on the Nobel Peace prize being awarded to President Obama.

War And Peace Prizes
October, 11 2009By Zinn, Howard
Howard Zinn's ZSpace Page
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I was dismayed when I heard Barack Obama was given the Nobel peace prize. A shock, really, to think that a president carrying on two wars would be given a peace prize. Until I recalled that Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry Kissinger had all received Nobel peace prizes. The Nobel committee is famous for its superficial estimates, won over by rhetoric and by empty gestures, and ignoring blatant violations of world peace.

Yes, Wilson gets credit for the League of Nations - that ineffectual body which did nothing to prevent war. But he had bombarded the Mexican coast, sent troops to occupy Haiti and the Dominican Republic and brought the US into the slaughterhouse of Europe in the first World War, surely among stupid and deadly wars at the top of the list.

Sure, Theodore Roosevelt brokered a peace between Japan and Russia. But he was a lover of war, who participated in the US conquest of Cuba, pretending to liberate it from Spain while fastening US chains on that tiny island. And as president he presided over the bloody war to subjugate the Filipinos, even congratulating a US general who had just massacred 600 helpless villagers in the Phillipines. The Committee did not give the Nobel prize to Mark Twain, who denounced Roosevelt and criticised the war, nor to William James, leader of the anti-imperialist league.

Oh yes, the committee saw fit to give a peace prize to Henry Kissinger, because he signed the final peace agreement ending the war in Vietnam, of which he had been one of the architects. Kissinger, who obsequiously went along with Nixon's expansion of the war, with the bombing of peasant villages in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Kissinger, who matches the definition of a war criminal very accurately, is given a peace prize!

People should be given a peace prize not on the basis of promises they have made - as with Obama, an eloquent maker of promises - but on the basis of actual accomplishments towards ending war, and Obama has continued deadly, inhuman military action in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Nobel peace committee should retire, and turn over its huge funds to some international peace organization which is not awed by stardom and rhetoric, and which has some understanding of history.

Howard Zinn is the author of &quot;A People's History of the United States,&quot; &quot;Voices of a People's History&quot; (with Anthony Arnove), and &quot;A Power Governments Cannot Suppress.&quot;

Source: The Guardian

Here's another by Alexander Cockburn:

http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/22857

and another by Paul Street:

http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/22842

And here are Fidel's remarks excerpted from his &quot;Reflections&quot; column in Granma:

&quot;...........In the morning of today, October 9, the world awoke to the news that the &quot;good Obama&quot; of the enigma explained by the Bolivarian President Hugo Chávez at the United Nations, has received the Nobel Peace prize. I do not always agree with the positions of that institution but I am obliged to acknowledge at this moment in time, that – in my view – it was a positive measure. It compensates for the setback that Obama suffered in Copenhagen when Rio de Janeiro and not Chicago was chosen as the venue for the 2016 Olympics, which prompted irate attacks from the extreme right.

Many people will say that he has not as yet won the right to receive such a distinction. We would like to see in the decision, more than a prize to the president of the United States, a criticism of the genocidal policy followed by more than a few presidents of that country, who have brought the world to the crossroads where it finds itself today; an exhortation to peace, and the search for solutions that will lead to the survival of the species.



Fidel Castro Ruz
October 9, 2009
6.11 p.m.