It's a great day in America when their President wins the Nobel Peace Prize and everybody collectively goes "what the heck?"
However, what takes the cake here is the Reuters story actually quoting a spokesman for the Taliban. This is borderline Saturday Night Live territory.
"The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel Prize for escalating violence and killing civilians'," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Says a member of an organization that escalates violence and kills civilians. Wonderful. While I wouldn't say Obama is a killer of innocent women of children (keep in mind he inherited two wars in his presidency and is slowly pulling troops out of Iraq), the reason for him winning the Peace Prize seems to be more related to his celebrity as opposed to his actual accomplishments. However, you can't deny his preaching for peace and in his position as president, the possibility of things getting done during his president are quite encouraging to some people.
So when are the Oscars?
I love the fact that even past Peace Prize winners are confused. "President Obama has yet to prove that he will move seriously on the Middle East, that he will end the war in Afghanistan and many other issues ... [it is] very sad," past Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire said.
ReplyDelete"The Nobel committee is not meeting the conditions of Alfred Nobel's will, because he stipulated that the award is to be given to people who end militarism and war and are for disarmament." she continued.
"Since his election as US president, President Obama has touched and inspired people all around the world." If that is the case, then shouldn't he get a Gold Star on his lapel for being a good boy?
I could get one too
ReplyDeleteLet us all put down our bourbons and bludgeons. Let’s un-bunch our bloomers and take a closer, calmer and cooler look at the Obama Nobel prize.
First off, the Prez had been in office a grand total of 12 days when the nomination deadline of February 1 passed. I may be wrong since I don’t recover from New Year’s parties as quickly as I used to, but I don’t recall any international “Peace in Our Time” initiatives in the last couple of week of January coming out of the White House.
Realistically, I’d be lucky to remember my office phone number and who is running the office football pool in the first 12 days on the job.
Next it is the Norwegian government, currently being run by a combination left leaning parties that appoints the selection committee. How many conservatives do you think were on that committee if they could be found?
Remember that in 1994 these are the same folks who awarded the prize to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. Unofficial accounts state that after the award ceremony the three held, in the words of Anakin Skywalker, “aggressive negotiations” resulting in Arafat sustaining a broken nose, three teeth missing and severe testicular swelling. Peres ended up with two broken knuckles and Rabin a twisted knee.
Don’t forget that Al Gore got one in ’07 for his interpretation of Chicken Little in, “The Sky is Heating”.
This is a country where the national pastime is shivering and the weather is described as, ‘winter and two months of hard sledding.’ Global warming to the average Norwegian is a good idea. They have to do something to lighten things up.
It is Norway, for crying out loud. About 1200 years ago the last of the freethinkers got in their boats and headed due south as fast as they could row. They did a little damage along the way, but they never looked back.
It does not take ‘Jimmy the Greek’ to figure out that some sort of fix was on, but I can’t figure out to what end. Were these five folks trying to influence US policy? Were they trying butter up Obama to get an increase in foreign aid? Were they trying to open up the US pickled herring market?
So the award was either a joke or a thinly disguised effort on the part of the committee to get a self-inflicted ‘touchy-feely.’ The 60s and 70s revisited.
According to an unmanned source when the press secretary informed the President that he was awarded the Prize he said, “Yeah, right. Who told you, the FOX news guys? How many times did I tell you never to take their calls?”
However, I have to look at the bright side. If Chicken Little and the 12-day wonder can get a Nobel why can’t I get one in Literature? I could use the $1.3 million and it would prove, beyond a doubt that the Nobelers should not be taken seriously.
That’s sad.