That is all, discuss.
That is all, discuss.
Interesting choice -- and I applaud the committee for taking the risk. I promise the sky isn't falling, too..
That prize has been a joke since Al Gore won it for his dubious global warming tech.
ddavidv wrote: That prize has been a joke since Al Gore won it for his dubious global warming tech.
The Prize committee demeaned itself long before Gore by electing Yasir Arafat as winner in 1994.
President Obama was sworn-in to office only weeks before the committee's deadline. Just what did he do (in the name of peace, or anything) in such a short time to earn a nomination?
Something stinks in Scandinavia and it's not day-old fish.
Sorry but what a joke. He was in office for what, 2 months before the submission deadline? And even up through now, what has he really accomplished? Sure he has a lot of balls up in the air with Iran, Iraq, Afganistan, N. Korea, economy, health care, jobs, etc. but what has he gotten done so far - and what of that contributes to "World Peace"? This isn't personal or political, I just think it is a bit premature to give this to him. Who knows maybe the competition was just really weak this time around.... 
No, Obama's great. Look what he's accomplished! US Budget Deficit hits new record
ddavidv wrote: No, Obama's great. Look what he's accomplished! US Budget Deficit hits new record
Because that has everything to do with peace.
Also, I don't think you can be fighting a war on two fronts and be labeled "peacemaker".
fastEddie wrote: Sorry but what a joke. He was in office for what, 2 months before the submission deadline?
Actually, he was in office for two weeks, making the nomination an even bigger joke.
I read that this morning and laughed. I knew it would paint a new bullseye on his back for the conservatives to aim for.
He might've won the prize mainly because it wasn't that long ago black folks in America couldn't vote. No matter your view of his presidency the man has accomplished a lot in a nation that has a very recent history of discrimination against his race. A bit like Nelson Mandela becoming the leader of his country.
Also, consider this. It's a prize for our Nation and the progress it's made to help all it's citizen's. The progress we've made to live up to the words "That all men are created equal." They can't award a prize to a nation so award it to the person who worked hard to get there. The man who represents our progress. Hell, it was a big deal with Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia. His grandparents were slaves. Now he's the governor?
Another thing to consider is that Obama walks the walk in what he says. He doesn't just say "I'm a uniter not a divider." He goes out and accomplishes this by opening dialogues with nations that hate us for what we have previously done or for the freedom we represent. Even when other folks criticize him for being "spineless" or "weak." I'm not just slinging stones for the previous 8 years as we've done a lot of reprehensible things overseas for decades. Still do unfortunately. Kidnapping comes to mind. Excuse me. I'll use the cute term the government uses, extreme rendition.
Why not consider the positive? It's an award to our nation because they are awarding our leader. It's another feather in our cap as the global leader in most every category.
He talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks,and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks, and talks.... but doesn't DO anything.
Jimmy Carter got one too, that made it lose a lot of credebility with me.
Dan
Xceler8x wrote: I read that this morning and laughed. I knew it would paint a new bullseye on his back for the conservatives to aim for. He might've won the prize mainly because it wasn't that long ago black folks in America couldn't vote. No matter your view of his presidency the man has accomplished a lot in a nation that has a very recent history of discrimination against his race. A bit like Nelson Mandela becoming the leader of his country. Also, consider this. It's a prize for our Nation and the progress it's made to help all it's citizen's. The progress we've made to live up to the words "That all men are created equal." They can't award a prize to a nation so award it to the person who worked hard to get there. The man who represents our progress. Hell, it was a big deal with Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia. His grandparents were slaves. Now he's the governor? Another thing to consider is that Obama walks the walk in what he says. He doesn't just say "I'm a uniter not a divider." He goes out and accomplishes this by opening dialogues with nations that hate us for what we have previously done or for the freedom we represent. Even when other folks criticize him for being "spineless" or "weak." I'm not just slinging stones for the previous 8 years as we've done a lot of reprehensible things overseas for decades. Still do unfortunately. Kidnapping comes to mind. Excuse me. I'll use the cute term the government uses, extreme rendition. Why not consider the positive? It's an award to our nation because they are awarding our leader. It's another feather in our cap as the global leader in most every category.
Targeting conservatives is a cheap shot. But liberals are as good at that as conservatives, aren't they?
I appreciate your glass-half-full take on the situation, but prizes should be awarded for personal accomplishments, not whims. President Obama's award is akin to an NFL player winning the "Rookie of the Year" award even though he joined the league two weeks before the nomination deadline.
President Carter laid the foundation for the Middle East peace talks, but Arafat walked away with the Peace Prize. His (Arafat's) enduring legacy still pays tribute to the sanctity of the Nobel committee's nomination and election process.
I guess he won it for not allowing McCain to be president, thus averting 100 years of war
Seriously, why? 
Jimmah's Peace Plan: Hey Isreal, you stop killing Egyptians and we'll give you 3 billion dollars U.S. a year. OK? Hey Egypt, you stop killing Isrealies and we'll give you 3 billion dollars U.S. a year. OK?
I was not surprised at all to see The O getting the "peace prize." It is a political stab at the U.S. Anything that makes us weaker is in the rest of the world's best interest. So, The O's massive debt bubble, taking money from YOUR CHILDREN and giving it to already rich foreigners today makes the U.S. a weaker nation, thus the rest of the world is richer as we get poorer, and The O gets a peace prize. Simple really. Otherwise, I guess he got it for closing down Club Gitmo or stopping the war in Afganistan. Take your pick.
oldsaw wrote: President Obama was sworn-in to office only weeks before the committee's deadline. Just what did he do (in the name of peace, or anything) in such a short time to earn a nomination?
He wasn't perceived as rich, white, and Republican, and his last name wasn't Bush. That's what he did to earn it.
I suspect the motivation was to encourage President Obama to make overly generous concessions…since your super niceness is legendary being noted by high honor and all, you’ll of course let other countries run around pulling all sorts of E36 M3.
Nobel Prize =
914Driver wrote: Jimmy Carter got one too, that made it lose a lot of credebility with me. Dan
eeeeh, not sure about the timing of Carters award but he has done quite a bit to earn him recognition post presidency. For example, his organization has overseen over 70 elections in emerging democracies, many in countries that have never held elections.
I know Carter's presidency was controversial but has certainly been an pretty good ex-president.
As long as they are just GIVING Nobel Peace Prizes away, can I have one too? I think it would look nice on the mantel and I could really use the money to buy some tires for the E30.
GameboyRMH wrote: I guess he won it for not allowing McCain to be president, thus averting 100 years of war
Last I heard we were still at war and the left hates him for not pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm not sure exactly how he is a peacemaker outside of maybe smoothing a few diplomatic feathers ruffled by the Bush Administration. .
Some interesting takes on the news circuit today.
The BBC's take on O winning the Nobel Prize. <
The BBC digs the deepest on this and comes up with some quotes from the committee.
This guy basically says it's a pre-emptive "Atta boy!" like many of you have already pointed out.
I travel throughout the Caribbean. Obama is wildly popular there. Bush was hated. Big change. Give him time,he will do good.
My boss, who is a big Obama fan, argued that he deserves it based on what he has done so far: Setting a concrete deadline for the Iraq war, arranging peace talks, aplogizing for the US' recent behavior (I guess he doesn't understand that a lot of Americans hate that), bla bla bla. That's all well and good but maybe he'd deserve a peace prize AFTER following through with all that talk and all those good intentions. It's like giving the award for Best Production Car of 2009 to a startup company that's created a cool concept sketch.
The Peace Prize, unlike the other Nobels, isn't necessarily given just for past accomplishments, but is occasionally used to spur or provide a measure of substantive approval to an event.
So out of all the people on the planet, the one man who is presiding over two wars on foreign soil, neither one legally declared, and is also taking people from all sorts of nations and locking them up in a miltary prison in a 3rd country, not charging them with any crime and ignoring their rights is the one person the Nobel committee rewards for peace?
Sure he can give an inspiration speeach about a world without nuclear weapons and that we will all ride pink unicorns, but what is wrong about judging a man by his actions and not his words? This is the biggest proof that bullE36 M3ters can and do win. It's not what you do that matters it's what you say and how you make others feel.
Stunning.
Next year some cracjpot dictator will try to fight three wars so he can win the Peace Prize.
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