The Nobel Peace prize goes to Barack Obama

[I want teh kotor 3]

Think this devalues the great men and women who actually deserved their awards?

 

This seems like an award a grampa would give to his soon for most improved, and that this award will just encourage the kid to keep trying I think obama is a nice guy but he hasn't deserved this yet for all i know, which isn't very much!

 

Yes, it does, especially a certain person who deserved more than the one he got, not to mention Ghandi and MLK, both of whom sure as hell deserved it.

 

Obama hasn't done anything.

 

 

Would have been funnier if they had given it to Bush

 

Yeah. Bush was a better president than Obama. Hilarious.

[Volourn]

I hope he enjoys his menaingless awards as he shares his 'peace prize' with such aluminaries as those who mastermind suicide bombings and the like. L0LZ

[Hiro Protagonist]

The peace prize also comes with $20 million in cash if I'm not mistaken. I think it would be good for Obama to donate the money to a peace keeping organisation(s) or to a worthwhile cause in the name of peace.

[Aristes]

To be fair to Obama, he did say he would donate the award money to charity. I mean, if he doesn't we should take him to task, but I'll assume he will do so. So, I don't think he deserves it, but he should get props for giving the cash to the needy.

[Hurlshort]

I'm pretty sure it is a $1 million prize. 20 would be a bit excessive.

[Aristes]

I also think it's $1.4 million US. Pretty hefty prize, but for most folks the prestige is probably better. Hell, a lot of folks, such as Ossietzky (?) died before they ever saw any of the money anyhow.

[Volourn]

Yeah, $20mil would be excessive considering the award is about celebrating one helping others. Heh.

[Hiro Protagonist]

ah yes. It's not 20 million (where the hell did I get that figure from? ), it's only 1.4 million.

[Maria Caliban]

What do you mean he's done nothing? He gave away missile defense and is about to surrender in Afghanistan. It's no wonder Europeans love him.

 

But yeah, the Nobel peace prize has long ago become a joke, it's not like any more proof was needed.

 

Missile defense is about as dangerous as weapons grade uranium when it comes to world peace; MAD is what's kept us from WWIII, not the milk of human kindness. Moreover, because he decided not to build that missile defense system, Russia is going to not veto UN sanctions against Iran. Those same sanctions were what prevented Iraq from making their WMDs. If it works again, Iran and Israel won

Edited October 12, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Aristes]

Only if that quid pro quo comes through will that be a valid statement. Otherwise, it's just another policy decision. Missle Defense, for those of us old enough to remember when it first made the headlines, was never as awesome as the proponents touted nor as terrible as the critics accused.

[Maria Caliban]

Only if that quid pro quo comes through will that be a valid statement...

 

Granted.

[Guard Dog]

On what MC said, I read an article yesterday that made the case the award should have beedn conferred on a nuclear weapon because they have done more to keep peace than any one man. But Russias promise not to veto or their at best tepid support for sanctions carried little worth. China will still veto and there is nothing to buy them off with. Besides, if the Middle East explodes in war, Russia becomes the richest and most influential country in the world becaue it will have the most oil and the means to deliver it.

 

Once Iran has a nuclear weapon is there any doubt in anyones mind they will give one to Hamas, Al Qaida, some one of that ilk? The day they have one more weapon than India, Pakistan or Israel, is the day a weapon detonates in Tel Aviv or Washington DC, or New York, or London, or somewhere. It's a good as done because no one is willing to stop it.

[mkreku]

You actually do believe that, don't you? Yet the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon on another nation is your own.

[Guard Dog]

You actually do believe that, don't you? Yet the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon on another nation is your own.

Yep, in the midst of a shooting war precipitated by an unprovoked attack that was followed by invasions of US soil, invasions and subjegation of allies, and attacks on US interests all over the world.

 

Just in case you happened to forget that little nugget.

 

 

And you had better beleive I believe it. I pray I am wrong, but I don't think I will be. It dosen't matter anyway. If it's going to happen it's going to happen. No one will stop it. The current regime in Iran has an apoclyptic bent and they probably believe giving a weapon to terrorists will insulate them from reprisals. I have real doubts that if they did do it the the world would get on board for military action anyway.

 

I don't mean to take this thread OT so respond if you like but I'm dropping it here.

[Gorgon]

I think MAD was the only thing keeping things from escalating into another world war, at least two or three times, notably Vietnam and Korea, although MacArthur wanted to use the bomb himself. Thank god he never got to be president.

 

And on the other hand in the Cuban missile crisis the weapons themselves were the catalyst for the near war.

[Hiro Protagonist]

On what MC said, I read an article yesterday that made the case the award should have beedn conferred on a nuclear weapon because they have done more to keep peace than any one man.

 

I read that article as well, although I'm not sure it's nuclear weapons that has prevented a third world war.

[213374U]

While it's anyone's guess how things would have turned out without the bomb, the numbers for Warsaw Pact conventional forces sure are scary. It's difficult to explain such massive military buildup as "defensive in nature".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_formatio...ng_the_Cold_War

[Wrath of Dagon]

Mutual Assured Destruction is a very high risk way to maintain peace, it's all or nothing. Kudos for the Cuban Missile Crisis reference. Anyway, the missile defense was targeted at Iran, not Russia, though anything that pisses off Russia is a plus in my book.

 

Giving the peace prize to Obama makes about as much sense as naming a peace prize after a war monger. They should rename it to "We hate George W Bush prize" or "The Neville Chamberlain appeasement prize".

[Maria Caliban]

You actually do believe that, don't you? Yet the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon on another nation is your own.

 

Nuclear weapons were used once to devastating effect but haven

Edited October 12, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Purkake]

If we outlaw nukes, only the outlaws will have nukes

[Maria Caliban]

If we outlaw nukes, only the outlaws will have nukes

 

You can tell an American wrote that article.

[Wrath of Dagon]

Moscow has consistently said that the missile defense was a threat to their national security. Whether this is true or not is debatable, but they did perceive it as a threat.

Then they should do something about Iran, instead of aiding and abetting them.

[Purkake]

I think they're busy rewriting the history.

[lord of flies]

You actually do believe that, don't you? Yet the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon on another nation is your own.

Yep, in the midst of a shooting war precipitated by an unprovoked attack that was followed by invasions of US soil, invasions and subjegation of allies, and attacks on US interests all over the world.

 

Just in case you happened to forget that little nugget.

lol. no. You dropped a nuclear weapon on civilian targets in a country which had killed virtually no civilians of your own. Your country literally killed more of your own Chinese citizens by mob violence than the Japanese army killed out of military attack. It was not an "unprovoked" attack, unless you are a vapid child who doesn't realize that the United States had made a considered, thought out decision to embargo the oil of Japan, knowing that they would not be able to easily find other sources and be forced into a war they didn't want.

Edited October 13, 2009 by Gorth
Name calling... such a burgeoisie thing

[Gorgon]

But the Japanese regime did want war. They invaded to Korea and Manchuria to 'protect' them from colonial powers, well knowing that that was exactly what they were themselves. Unless you buy into their propaganda, but I don't think any reasonably intelligent person ever has. The envisioned greater Japanese empire certainly wasn't going to come without one.

 

They thought they could force a peace after a quick campaign in the pacific, but that's how wars go, easy to start, not so easy to end.