Today, U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Prize for Peace. According to the Nobel Committee, he was awarded the prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

I find this interesting. As CK puts it, “[even though] I’m not a right wing fascist like you are, I’m a little bit surprised.” (No, I’m not a right wing fascist). But, here’s the thing, I believe that the Nobel prize ought to be awarded for great things. For example, this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry being awarded to Ada Yonath was right on the mark. But Obama? Now don’t ge me wrong, this is not a bash Obama piece. But what has Obama done in his less than one year as President to warrant a Nobel Prize? Has he brought peace to he Middle East? No. Has he stopped Iran’s nuclear ambitions and prevented them from gaining nuclear weapons? No. Has he perhaps brought peace and security to the AfPak border? No, (though he has called for increased Taliban participation in the Afghani government). So what has he done? Yes, he made some nice European-like overtures; he spoke kindly to the international Muslim community, he has been harder on Israel than his predecessor, he’s made some semi-hard handed comments to Iran. But what has he done? Let’s be honest – nothing.

Thank you Nobel Prize Committee for awarding the most ridiculous Nobel Prize for Peace since 1994, when you awarded one to the terrorist leader Yasser Arafat. Well done and kudos!

Latest posts by dahlia (see all)

About the author

dahlia

25 Comments

  • Well, said. I voted for Obama and still approve of the the President, but Nobel Peace Prize winner? Couldn’t they just wait a couple years when he might have actually accomplished something?

  • As my husband puts it, “The further away you get from concrete sciences like physics, the more bullshit there is in the Nobel Prizes.”

  • while i agree that it is somewhat preposterous to award the prize to Obama now, i think it is as much a statement on his predecessor’s politics as it is an expression of hope. let’s hope he proves himself worthy of the award, unlike indeed, for example, Arafat.

  • Let’s not forget other great winners in whose steps he now walks: Kofi Anan and Jimmy Carter.

    Could we maybe exile the Norwegian Parliament to Siberia?

  • Next year, I hear Bashar al-Assad has the inside track. After all, Syria’s been pretty peaceful these past few decades.

  • I’m with you on this one… My first reaction was, “For What?” I also voted for Obama and I have high hopes for his Presidency, but he ain’t there yet.

    I’m told that nominations closed nine days after the elections, so, in the words of Christine Lavin, “What were they thinking?”

  • I want a Nobel Peace Prize, too.

    I’ve already prepared a speech:

    Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Nobel Prize Committee,

    I thought you were pretty wack when you awarded Elfriede Jelinek the Nobel Literature Prize. I hope you’ve read her works, too. That should have served as sufficient punishment for having taken such a decision.

    But I happen to be an effin optimist {insert random curse in Russian], so I thought there was hope for you. And truly, you haven’t disappointed me as today I’m accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for my absolute awesomeness.

    I would like to use the occasion to tell my critics STFU. I’ve deserved this prize and will tell you why.

    The prestige that comes with it may enable me as well to one day possibly save the earth or bring peace to the Middle East. I’m part African (1/132th), part Italian, part Spanish, part Belgian, part German, part Middle Eastern, so I qualify in the diversity department. I’ve got two X-chromosomes as well and I PMS. There are different religions, agnostics and atheists in my family; we even tolerate the Protestants that have married into the family (even though they seem to have an odd tendency of dying young). I had a deaf-mute great-aunt, so I can sign a little (e.g. “I see the mouse walking on your bed. I love the mouse.”), and I have worked with handicapped kids and young adults of ethnically diverse / socially challenging backgrounds. I’m a non-smoker. I bake wicked vanilla-chilli angel cookies. I buy fairtrade coffee. I cleaned the bathroom today even though it hadn’t been me who’d made it dirty.
    I so rock.

    Thanks for your attention, ladies and gentlemen. You might want to serve the snacks and the booze now while I’m sitting in the lobby, selling and signing my gift book “100 Ways not to Name a Penis”.

    Merci beaucoup. Au revoir. (Well, I’ll be seeing you next year again when I’ll be getting that Nobel Literature Prize. I’ll use the cash towards a fancy handbag.)

  • Finally– Middle’s vote for Barack is vindicated. Thanks, prize committee.

  • Jesus, what a bunch of absolute fucktards. But, hey, Obama is in good company with all the other shysters, con men, phonies and losers who have won the damn thing.

    If I were Obama, though, I wouldn’t touch it. Once Arafat got t, it has a case of Terminal Cooties. It sullies anyone who has the misfortune to receive it.

    What this is, though, is “the world” telling Obama not to cause trouble (e.g., face down Iran). How can you fight Islamist loonies with The Bomb after you’ve won the Peace Prize?

  • Middle, Nader didn’t make it on the ballot, did he?

    My favorite blogospheric reaction thus far: “He was the tenth caller.”

  • Obama’s Nobel award is in part for avoiding conflict with North Korea, for avoiding conflict with Iran and, like for No. Korea, provide them with incentives to go ahead and build their peaceful A bomb, for eliminating a space based ballistic missiles defensive shield, for not deploying an eastern European land based missile shield, for not even asking the Russians to help with educing Iran’s A bomb and nuclear energy plans, for being a proponent of reducing carbon dioxide (after all, CO2 is about 3% of the earths gasses, less than 20% of this 3% is due to human activity and the USA contributes almost a third of the 20%, with great economic cost, that third may be cut by almost a third…Al Gore and his carbon exchange system will get rich…the planet will get cooler even without its implementation and plant life that likes carbon dioxide will be cheering for more CO2, Norway is going to applaud Al Gore for his $500M grant to start a battery only vehicle company in Norway who still feel terrible, er bad, er inadequate, for not completing the work of the third reich). We will all pray for the Afgan women, who in their Burkas will doubtless enjoy being governed by Taliban; Obama has more than advocated this result…no wander the Norwegians like him.

  • A thing well worth considering: it was on the news the day before yesterday that this year up to 10th October, there have been more death sentences executed in the US than in the previous year.

    From the US Constitution, Article II Section 2:
    The President […] shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

    I admit it’s tough aiming at world peace yet pacifying the Redneck electorate all the while being in the news for one’s choice of a First Dog and denims and books to read bedtime stories out from, so there might not be much time left to set an example of benevolence and turn death sentences into life sentences – something I’d have expected to fall into the category of “Change we can believe in”.

    As Ephraim correctly suggested, Obama’s now under pressure to perform in certain ways and to live up to certain expectations that might at some point clash with his role as the leader of the US military in times of war.
    I’d always understood the Nobel Peace Prize to be sort of an award for a lifetime’s achievements that was occasionally used to back the efforts of grassroots projects in oppressive systems, but now it seems to have become an instrument of political decision making in an almost passive-aggressive way – a Jewish mother of world politics, so to speak.

    Also, does anybody else find it odd that with all the foreign policy merits that supposedly have earned Obama the Nobel Peace Prize, it’s not his Secretary of State that was the Nobel Prize Committee’s choice?

  • Agreed he does not deserve it, he did a good thing in calling for Israel to stop allowing Jews building homes in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem. He also donated millions to the rebuilding of the Gaza strip after Israel’s illegal war there, another good sign. Furthermore he hasn’t been very aggressive with Iran, possibly saving the world another war. Iran doesn’t even have any way of delivering a nuclear weapon to the US, so they pose no threat to us. I think Obama realizes this. Bush or McCain would have done none of these things. Obama is a vast improvement so far.

  • Good point Bruce……

    Isaak Robin held his nobel peace prize with a bloody hands.
    Al gore won NPP using wikipedia and youtube researches.
    NPP never been fare since it started , they excluded mathimaticians because Nobel the punk did not like his mathimatician friend.
    NPP are made for jews by jews and jews are record holders of who won the most NPP.

  • Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa? My site goes over a lot of the same topics as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Wonderful blog by the way!

  • This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your excellent post. Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!

  • Thanks for some other informative website. Where else may I am getting that kind of info written in such a perfect method? I’ve a venture that I am just now operating on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.

  • An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who has been doing a little homework on this. And he actually bought me lunch because I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to talk about this matter here on your website.

  • That headset was while beautiful as in image. Information technology appeared quickly. I would advise utilizing a towel above every level while you click things outside w / letter vapor iron. It doesn’t steam over using merely a steamer. The actual iron is needed. It can be delicate, when you cannot trust your self using the towel and vapor iron, therefore take it to a pro. Perfect appear.