Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

[Chihiro2]

US President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel Committee said he was awarded it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".

The committee highlighted Mr Obama's efforts to strengthen international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament.

There were a record 205 nominations for this year's prize. Zimbabwe's prime minister and a Chinese dissident had been among the favourites.

The laureate - chosen by a five-member committee - wins a gold medal, a diploma and 10m Swedish kronor ($1.4m).

"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," the Norwegian committee said as the prize was announced.

"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."

Asked why the prize had been awarded to Mr Obama less than a year after he took office, Nobel committee head Thorbjoern Jagland said: "It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve".

"It is a clear signal that we want to advocate the same as he has done," he said.

He specifically mentioned Mr Obama's work to strengthen international institutions and work towards a world free of nuclear arms.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8298580.stm


what has he done actually to deserve such an honour?

 

[Naytobes]

He might do a lot of stuff that we don't hear about - usually the case. I like Obama though

 

[The One.]

Wow he won it?? I heard he was nominated but I didn't think he'd actually win it.
But good for him! I didn't know much about the other nominees though so I can't really say anything about it.

Finland's ex-president won the peace price last year, that was awesome.

 

[do_re_mi]

Wow he won it?? I heard he was nominated but I didn't think he'd actually win it.
But good for him! I didn't know much about the other nominees though so I can't really say anything about it.

Finland's ex-president won the peace price last year, that was awesome.

Did you hear about the letter that was written to the committee by "a notable Finn"? I'd really like to know who wrote it.

I have to say that I was kind of surprised to hear that Obama won. I'm not saying that he didn't deserve it, I didn't even know who were nominated, but I was surprised.

 

[Gonetoosoon]

I don't follow politics much.. but as far as I know one shouldn't win a Peace Prize if a wars' been fought?

 

[sugarbunny891]

Biggest Joke ever this!!

 

[vstreet]

F*** Him.

How can that SOB win a Peace Prize??? What, is SATAN up for an award too? Is he going to be given the greatest humanitarian of all time award?

My goodness! What have they done?? The man who has done NOTHING for peace is winning a prize for it?

What a corrupt corrupt organization. Giving a peace prize to a man who stands for no such thing.

What a world we live in.

 

[Luci]

I don't follow politics much.. but as far as I know one shouldn't win a Peace Prize if a wars' been fought?

I agree.

I dont really understand this, I dont follow politics alot...but Im sure there are other people...

 

[Science Freak]

Haven't seen alot of his promises so I don't know if he really deserves the price.
Though, why should a president win the nobel peace prize if there is still a war?
Why can't they give the price to someone who is actually in the field working to bring peace.
(Michael should definately win this price.)

 

[mjjfan4ever]

my humble opinion....... you'd think with genocide and atrocities committed in Darfur, Burma, Congo, and other places seeing massive and consistent degradation of life and injustice .......

the NOBEL committee would have found an appropriated recipient. You are telling me there isn't one person they thought deserving of the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE who has been working to end genocide in Darfur? REALLY?

the nobel prize in recent years has become a "high school popularity contest".

 

[blue_eyed_belle]

My housemate just told me a few minutes ago that Obama won - I'm surprised too! Anyone know exactly why he was nominated, and the reasons why he won? I assumed he was nominated for what he stands for and the direction in which he plans to take America, but surely that isn't enough to win the nobel?!?

 

[sugarbunny891]

Nominated for all the B.S that comes out of his mouth. Its all based on what he has "said" he will do in the future........How can a man still fighting a "war" be nominated!

 

[Bob George]

What? WHAT? He's been in office for nine and a half months and he doesn't have a very flattering record so far.

- Escalated the war in Afghanistan (war = peace?)
- Nearly tripled the United States national debt
- Has failed to fulfil any election promise so far
- Failed to win the 2016 Olympics bid for Chicago

On what basis does he deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? Not only has he failed to increase the peace to any extent, he has failed as a political leader. It's nothing more than blatant idol worship at this point.

 

[xo_lola_xo]

WTF?

He got one and Michael didn't?

I know he's the first black president and all but what more has he done for the world?

Nobel Peace Prizes must be a joke.

 

[xo_lola_xo]

my humble opinion....... you'd think with genocide and atrocities committed in Darfur, Burma, Congo, and other places seeing massive and consistent degradation of life and injustice .......

the NOBEL committee would have found an appropriated recipient. You are telling me there isn't one person they thought deserving of the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE who has been working to end genocide in Darfur? REALLY?

the nobel prize in recent years has become a "high school popularity contest".

Just like the Grammy awards.

The world has truly lost its way.

 

[mjiseverything2]

Okay Honestly what do you expect for this man to do in 9 months to repair what bush did in 8 years?

He was nominated before he got into office

Whats with the bashing? Let the man do his job. He is not the anti christ

he's a POLITICIAN

he's not going to keep all the promises he made

jesus christ..

 

[xo_lola_xo]

Okay Honestly what do you expect for this man to do in 9 months to repair what bush did in 8 years?

He was nominated before he got into office

Whats with the bashing? Let the man do his job. He is not the anti christ

he's a POLITICIAN

he's not going to keep all the promises he made

jesus christ..

When I hear Politician I hear devil.

Seriously.

I know it's harsh but there has been so much wrong doing and evil because of politics.

 

[Bob George]

Okay Honestly what do you expect for this man to do in 9 months to repair what bush did in 8 years?

He could start by not making things any worse by tripling the debt, escalating the war in Afghanistan etc. When do things stop being Bush's fault and start being Obama's problem? Seriously.

 

[Tenacious D]

Btw, he was selected as the winner back in February when he was like 2 weeks into being president...... yea.....

 

[X_AGNES_X]

The Nobel Committee hailed Mr Obama's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples", citing his work to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=7098&edition=2&ttl=20091009163239

i was surprised too.
i didn't really follow news, what has he done??

 

[Redridinghood]

this is just farcical

 

[williamorange1]

this a joke , right? Obama won a noble prize ? for what EXACTLY ?

 

[williamorange1]

The Nobel Committee hailed Mr Obama's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples", citing his work to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=7098&edition=2&ttl=20091009163239

i was surprised too.
i didn't really follow news, what has he done??

you did miss nothing at all . he did nothing .

he always promises and never meet his promises. even the Guantanamo base is not gonna be closed soon as he said .
he is not able to close a jail , waited almost a month to condemn the regime in Iran , asked Israel to stop building more settlement on the palestinian territory and backed out when the Israeli prime minister visited the white house . what did he do ? nothing .
"citing his work to rif the world of nuclear weapons" this is the lie of the century . the U.s of all countries won't ever get rid of the nuclear weapons . the hypocrisy .

 

[MySerenity5]

He only won because of all the hype...

I dont have anything against him but people act as though he's the saviour of the world or something... It's annoying because if George Bush was not such a bad leader, Obama would not have look so good to the people. They actually thought he made a change...

I mean, it's great that he's the first African American to become a President but other people have laid that foundation of acceptance since Martin Luther King, James Brown, Aretha, Motown, and Mike...

I'm sure he's a good guy but the constant media whoring is turning me off. He's not a celebrity, he's the President... =p

 

[MJJ:G.O.A.T]

Analysis: Peace Prize Awarded Based on Achievement or Aspirations

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 9, 2009; 11:33 AM

There are essentially two kinds of Nobel Peace Prizes--achievement-based and "aspirational." President Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to win an aspirational peace prize. He may one day come to view it as a straightjacket.

Only two other sitting presidents have won the Nobel peace prize, and they both won it for actual achievements. Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919 for founding the League of Nations and helping frame the post-World War I peace.

An aspirational Nobel is designed to promote a cause, and sometimes it backfires spectacularly. One example is the 1994 prize given to, among others, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for promoting Middle East peace. Few today would question the conclusion that the prize was awarded prematurely, especially since the peace talks cited by the committee later collapsed in a spasm of violence that Arafat indirectly --or some say directly--promoted.

Obama's award, announced Friday, is a classic case of an aspirational award. The committee cited his "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" -- in itself is an acknowledgement that those efforts have yet to yield results. It also mentioned his push to eliminate nuclear weapons, a dream that Ronald Reagan also had but failed to achieve. Even Obama concedes that his lofty goal likely will not happen during his presidency.

But now Obama will be judged forever by this yardstick. And he may find it a heavy burden, especially as he must always keep U.S. interests--not worldwide acclaim--at the forefront of his policies.

Consider the long list of actions that Obama has promised: closing the facility at Guantanamo Bay within a year; achieving Middle East peace; ending the war in Iraq and defeating al Qaeda in Afghanistan; halting Iran's possible drive to a nuclear weapon; convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

Many of these have proven to be very difficult challenges. Obama appears likely to miss the deadline to close Gitmo. The Middle East peace push is nearly off the rails, with Obama shifting course last month after failing to convince Israel to agree to even a temporary settlement freeze. The North Korea talks have been moribund.

Obama has on his desk a proposal to boost the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by 40,000 or more, a decision that could extend the fighting there for many years.

Iran is perhaps the most vexing challenge. Some progress toward a negotiated solution was made last week in Geneva, but it is too early to tell if that will be sustainable. The diplomatic efforts may fail, forcing the president to consider sanctions that may bring suffering to the Iranian people. Ultimately, he may find on his desk a Pentagon proposal for a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Or he may get a call from an Israeli prime minister saying such a strike is imminent.

An attack on Iran may be in the U.S. interests. But is it something a Nobel peace prize winner would authorize?

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/09/AR2009100902278.html

 

[The One.]

Did you hear about the letter that was written to the committee by "a notable Finn"? I'd really like to know who wrote it.

Yeah I heard about that. Would be really interesting to know who wrote it!

My housemate just told me a few minutes ago that Obama won - I'm surprised too! Anyone know exactly why he was nominated, and the reasons why he won? I assumed he was nominated for what he stands for and the direction in which he plans to take America, but surely that isn't enough to win the nobel?!?

I'm not sure but it's like they're encouraging him in his work in the Middle East with this prize.
I don't know.. maybe there would've been someone who would have deserved it better. I like Obama, I think he's a great president but he hasn't really done nothing yet.

 

[144000]

man..i wish people would stop being ambivalent about this nobel prize. i thought you had to wait twenty years or something to get one..now there is an 'aspirational' prize? what the hell is that?

i was wondering about MJ getting one, and i keep hearing he had to wait a large number of years just to be nominated, let alone win. and then i hear Obama getting one, right out of the box. i don't understand that...

 

[Agent M]

If people think he deserves it because he's the first black president they are racist. Frankly, while he has a lot of potential and is certainly more promising than Bush or McCain he has yet to live up to his lofty expectations. As others have mentioned, there are more deserving individuals. On the positive side, now that he has been awarded it, maybe he will work extra hard to prove that he deserves it.

 

[Blackcat]

i was wondering about MJ getting one, and i keep hearing he had to wait a large number of years just to be nominated, let alone win. and then i hear Obama getting one, right out of the box. i don't understand that...

Co-sign...:no:
I mean come on...there are people out there helping others all the time..doing something for the world..but Obama...?? I never heard about a big change?

 

[Bee]

Obama to donate Nobel prize money to charity
Posted: 02:04 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama will donate the roughly $1.4 million award from his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to charity, a White House spokesman said Friday.


I think it's cool... Though I also think Michael should've got one far more.