Congratulations, European Union! Yes, the European Union, after their undying self-less efforts, has won the Nobel prize for peace. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/12/us-nobel-peace-idUSBRE89A1N820121012 The prize use to be a distinction amongst peace advocates who fought against social injustices and government malaise, and who fought for equality, harmony and clean health. Great people like Linus Pauling and Martin Luther King Jr. were awarded the prize. Now bitter popularly-elect non-presidents are entitled to the award and so are soon-to-be defunct monetary institutions (eurozone which this award is about). The euro still sucks, the eurozone countries need more convoluted bailouts, people are angry, and dangerous populist movements are snowballing. That deserves a peace prize!
This prize was reduced to the stature of a Cracker Jacks toy when they awarded it to Barack H. Obama three weeks into his Presidency.
I don't think the stature of the peace prize was reduced. I think the value of your opinion for taking that position on the peace prize was reduced.
Next MojoMan will tell us the Nobel prize for literature is a joke because a Chinaman won it this year.
Total joke. Another institution that should be uniting the world has become a propaganda tool. Maybe in 2007 this award would make some sense. In the last few years, the Eurozone has been nothing short of a divisive political minefield. People wanting to leave, people wanting to kick others out, governments on the verge of economic collapse, an unfortunate but small rise in fascism, etc. While most of that can be attributed to the circumstances, it still holds true that the European Union has not been prize-worthy in very recent history. This after they awarded to a 3-week old President, who subsequently gave a speech on how continuing an invasion of Afghanistan, from which Taliban have now fled to several countries, will achieve peace. Reminds me just how appalling the Benghazi cover up has been. This after they gave it to Arafat, Peres, and Rabin in 1994. Bye bye for good this time credibility. This award is meant to advance or reward political agendas regardless of underlying peacefulness.
Are you actually kidding me? Ok organisations like the Red Cross I can understand, but the European Union? Riiiiiight.
Yeah, because incredulity for giving the peace prize to a leader who is prosecuting two wars and expressed a plan to intensify the war effort in Afghanistan is exactly the same as incredulity for giving the literature award to a Chinese author.
I'm fine with disagreeing who the prize went to. I don't think Obama deserved it, and I don't think the EU should have won either. But to discredit the long honored prize completely because you happen to disagree with it, is petty and isn't really valid.
Wars prosecuted is not a criteria involved or particularly related to the Nobel Peace Prize. I know everyone just looks at the word "peace", but it seems if we're going to discredit an award for being given to an undeserving individual or group, we'd want to actually look at what the award bases its decisions on. That said, the Obama award wasn't particularly deserved based on the actual criteria, but it does make more sense when looked at that way than just based on the word "peace".
Obama was nominated for the award something like a week into his presidency. You say he wasn't "particularly" deserving. That and the rest of your sentence implies some sort of deservedness. Would you elaborate on what it is that Obama did that you think merited this award at that point? http://www.ehow.com/facts_5876462_criteria-noble-peace-prize.html
okay, maaayyyyybeeeee I could understand them getting it like say, 5 years ago. But NOW? After all the crap that's occuring there? That's just ridiculous.
Sure. The criteria, according to Alfred Nobel, was: Alfred Nobel’s will establishing the Peace Prize specified that the prize should go “to the person who shall have done the most of best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or deduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” His work on non-proliferation both in the Senate and a goal of his Presidency would be an example of deduction of standing armies. And his initial worldwide support would be an example of creating fraternity between nations. You could argue that his stated willingness to engage in talks with Iran without preconditions is an example of promotion of peace congresses. The stated reason was "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". As I said, I don't think he was particularly deserving - but there are at least examples of things he did along the lines of each of the awards' criteria. Continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan don't really fit into or against any of the above criteria. As far as the EU goes, the last year has seen a much tighter cooperation and union amongst EU nations, bringing together fiscal and monetary policy. Again, fairly silly - but it does fit some of the criteria of the award, which isn't necessarily all about "peace".
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I have long thought the peace prize was a joke, but I don't think you're looking at the award to the EU in the right light. Animosities between European powers caused two world wars, several deadly regional wars before that, and afflictions across the world due to imperialism. European powers turning from efficient, vicious killing machines to a post-hegemonic union where member-nations are all hugs-and-kisses (compared to where they used to be) is huge progress in world peace. I'm glad that European countries are no longer slaughtering each other and enslaving the whole world, and the EU is symbolic of this kind of post-war good-citizen persona they've adopted. As a propaganda tool, awarding the peace prize now to remind people how far Europe has come since World War II and the Cold War seems apropos. The Greeks might be feeloading on the Germans and the Germans might be destroying the Greek economy, but at least they're not making the Greeks clean the streets with toothbrushes, dynamiting the Parthenon, or loading anyone into cattle cars. That's progress. But, yeah, in general, I look upon the peace prize with disdain.
