The award of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to president Obama was initially a big surprise and has since become a major embarrassment as his atrocious record on war and civil liberties becomes more apparent. A past award to Henry Kissinger, who really should have been charged with war crimes, was another major embarrassment.
A formal inquiry is now underway against the officials who run the process, as a result of charges that they have drifted away from then original intent of the prize.
Fredrik Heffermehl, a prominent researcher and critic of the selection process, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that “Nobel called it a prize for the champions of peace.”
“And it’s indisputable that he had in mind the peace movement, i.e. the active development of international law and institutions, a new global order where nations safely can drop national armaments,” he said
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“Do you see Obama as a promoter of abolishing the military as a tool of international affairs?” Heffermehl asked rhetorically.”
Although the rules allow them to strip prizes that were awarded in the past three years, that is unlikely to happen and would be unprecedented.
Not so fortunate is the former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland who has had his knighthood stripped away due to his role in the banking debacle. Of course, this is purely symbolic. It is only when top bank executives start going to jail that we will see real reform taking place.
Actually Mr. Fred did get a punishment. He originally got almost £17 million as a golden parachute but he gave it back. He didn’t want to give it back (it was guaranteed in his contract) but reconsidered when someone uttered the magic words: “criminal charges.”
I think that it is highly unlikely that I will ever do anything to merit a Nobel Peace Prize. Judging by some of the odious people who have received them in the past I don’t think that I would want one anyway. Mother Theresa for example.
Yes, not only was Mother Teresa a disgusting choice for such recognition to those who know the truth about her work, she then used the Nobel Prize as a platform to preach against abortion.
The Nobel Peace Prize is no longer about peace, it’s about promoting a political standpoint. It’s great to give recognition to people that are working for democracy, freedom, equality and human rights, but it has nothing at all to do with peace.
Have Liu Xiaobo or Aung San Suu Kyi “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”? No, they are working for political reforms, which arguably leads to less peace.
The 14th Dalai Lama? Arguably the one person that has caused the most upset in the relationship between China and the rest of the world.
They all work for worthy causes, and they should be recognized, but they should absolutely not be awarded any Nobel Peace Prizes.
The Nobel Peace Prize has jumped the shark.
Not to stray from the point, but one great annoyance I have with Nobel Prizes are those who claim to have been nominated, such as Bill Richardson, among others.
The Nobel committee never publishes the lists of nominees until 50 years after the award has been given, and the only people who can nominate others are those on the committee or past winners. Secrecy is sacrosanct in that organization. The only way someone today can truly claim to have been a nominee is if that person was nominated in 1961 or before, and I highly doubt any of those who claim to be nominees actually were.
This is made worse by the media’s incompetence and unwillingness to check facts. What I said above is not secret information; I am not privy to the inner workings of the Nobel Prize committee. So how did I come to know this?
By visiting their website and reading it, something that “journalists” clearly can’t be bothered to do. It’s the first thing listed on the page.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/nomination/
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