Friday, October 09, 2009

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER!

WOW! I woke up this morning at around 6:00, fed my "furry babies"(my older male Golden Retreiver, "Louie", and new doggie, female German Shepherd, "Afton") and clicked on "The Today Show" to see what I hoped would be an entertaining exchange between Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera when the NASA "Shoot The Moon" program blasted into existence today. Instead, "breaking news" appeared as the familiar "Today Show" music cued up...."Presdent Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize!"
Congratulations to our esteemed President. To the progress he's already making, in changing hearts and minds, not only here in the USA, but around the world.
And although he had been in office only twelve days when the deadline for nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize was reached, my belief is that the international community is rewarding him (and us!) with this honor for his peace-filled, peaceful beliefs, and his by-now-famous efforts to secure the peace he has the audacity for which, to hope!
And to the Republicans, Conservatives, and haters who just seven days ago, claimed the world did not respect President Obama(ridiculously based on the US not getting Chicago selected as a host city for the Olympics. The city of Rio was chosen, frankly, because Brazil's head-of-state made a compelling argument that South America has never hosted any Olympic game), please take time to chew slowly, as you eat. your. words.

Article from AP, below:

____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________
President Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
By KARL RITTER and MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writers Karl Ritter And Matt Moore, Associated Press Writers


OSLO – President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.
Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.
Some around the world objected to the choice of Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counter-terror strikes in Pakistan and Somalia.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee countered that it was trying "to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now." It lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.
The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners'. The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.
"He got the prize because he has been able to change the international climate," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. "Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early? Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."
The selection to some extent reflects a trans-Atlantic divergence on Obama. In Europe and much of the world he is lionized for bringing the United States closer to mainstream global thinking on issues like climate change and multilateralism. At home, the picture is more complicated. As president, Obama is often criticized as he attempts to carry out his agenda — drawing fire over a host of issues from government spending to health care to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan.
U.S. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele contended that Obama won the prize as a result of his "star power" rather than meaningful accomplishments.
"The real question Americans are asking is, What has President Obama actually accomplished?" Steele said.
Obama's election and foreign policy moves caused a dramatic improvement in the image of the U.S. around the world. A 25-nation poll of 27,000 people released in July by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found double-digit boosts to the percentage of people viewing the U.S. favorably in countries around the world. That indicator had plunged across the world under President George W. Bush.
"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," Jagland said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made no secret of his admiration for Obama, called the decision the embodiment of the "return of America into the hearts of the people of the world."
But Obama's work is far from done, on numerous fronts.
He said he would end the Iraq war but has been slow to bring the troops home and the real end of the U.S. military presence there won't come until at least 2012.
He's running a second war in the Muslim world, in Afghanistan — and is seriously considering ramping the number of U.S. troops on the ground and asking for help from others, too.
"I don't think Obama deserves this. I don't know who's making all these decisions. The prize should go to someone who has done something for peace and humanity," said Ahmad Shabir, 18-year-old student in Kabul. "Since he is the president, I don't see any change in U.S. strategy in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama has said that battling climate change is a priority. But the U.S. seems likely to head into crucial international negotiations set for Copenhagen in December with Obama-backed legislation still stalled in Congress.
Lech Walesa, who won the prize in 1983, questioned whether Obama deserved it now.

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate.
"This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.
Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded by Swedish institutions, the peace prize is given out by a five-member committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament. Like the Parliament, the committee has a leftist slant, with three members elected by left-of-center parties. Jagland said the decision to honor Obama was unanimous.
The award appeared to be at least partly a slap at Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for his largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Nobel committee praised Obama's creation of "a new climate in international politics" and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and institutions like the U.N. to the center of the world stage.
"You have to remember that the world has been in a pretty dangerous phase," Jagland said. "And anybody who can contribute to getting the world out of this situation deserves a Nobel Peace Prize."
Until seconds before the award, speculation had focused on a wide variety of candidates besides Obama: Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a Colombian senator, a Chinese dissident and an Afghan woman's rights activist, among others. The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year's prize, though it was not immediately apparent who nominated Obama.
"The exciting and important thing about this prize is that it's given to someone ... who has the power to contribute to peace," Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said Obama's award shows great things are expected from him in coming years.
"It's an award coming near the beginning of the first term of office of a relatively young president that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all," Tutu said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope."
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the award: President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919.
Wilson received the prize for his role in founding the League of Nations, the hopeful but ultimately failed precursor to the contemporary United Nations.
The Nobel committee chairman said after awarding the 2002 prize to former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, for his mediation in international conflicts, that it should be seen as a "kick in the leg" to the Bush administration's hard line in the buildup to the Iraq war.
Five years later, the committee honored Bush's adversary in the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore, for his campaign to raise awareness about global warming.
In July talks in Moscow, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that their negotiators would work out a new limit on delivery vehicles for nuclear warheads of between 500 and 1,100. They also agreed that warhead limits would be reduced from the current range of 1,700-2,200 to as low as 1,500. The United States now has about 2,200 such warheads, compared to about 2,800 for the Russians.
But there has been no word on whether either side has started to act on the reductions.
Former Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said Obama has already provided outstanding leadership in the effort to prevent nuclear proliferation.
"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," ElBaradei said. "He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts."
Obama also has attempted to restart stalled talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, but just a day after Obama hosted the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York, Israeli officials boasted that they had fended off U.S. pressure to halt settlement construction. Moderate Palestinians said they felt undermined by Obama's failure to back up his demand for a freeze.
Obama was to meet with his top advisers on the Afghan war on Friday to consider a request by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to send as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan as the U.S war there enters its ninth year.
Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan earlier this year and has continued the use of unmanned drones for attacks on militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a strategy devised by the Bush administration. The attacks often kill or injure civilians living in the area.
Nominators for the prize include former laureates; current and former members of the committee and their staff; members of national governments and legislatures; university professors of law, theology, social sciences, history and philosophy; leaders of peace research and foreign affairs institutes; and members of international courts of law.
In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."
The committee has taken a wide interpretation of Nobel's guidelines, expanding the prize beyond peace mediation to include efforts to combat poverty, disease and climate change.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided not to inform Obama before the announcement because it didn't want to wake him up, committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.

"Waking up a president in the middle of the night, this isn't really something you do," Jagland said.

___

Associated Press writers Ian MacDougall in Oslo, Celean Jacobson in Johannesburg, George Jahn in Vienna, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland and Jennifer Loven in Washington contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peace, kids. Peace!

13 comments:

Tom Degan said...

TERRORIST BOMBS MOON!

The moon - that nocturnal inspiration to poets and lovers for centuries - was viciously attacked this morning by Muslim terrorist Barack HUSSEIN Obama and his co-conspirators within THE GOVERNMENT.

A clear message has been sent by this radical jihadist to good and decent people everywhere. There is no room for misinterpretation: if they can target the moon - THE MOON! - in such a ghastly and unprovoked matter, it only proves - conclusively - that Main Street is not safe. Our children must be protected from the radical, hideous agenda of this man and his vile administration. Mark my words, my fellow Americans - today the moon, tomorrow Anytown, USA. OH, THE HUMANITY!

But seriously, folks....

http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

PS - Nice site you have here, Lisa!

Rhiannon said...

Yes, I just read this wonderful article about Obama winning the Nobel peace prize. I feel it's a "nod" from other countries that they are relieved Bush is no longer "warmongering" as our president and that they expect great things from our new president, Obama. To "unite" instead of dividing, bringing other countries together, not apart. One day at a time and as Obama said "Brick by brick".

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Tom Degan--Thank you for visiting. I feel certain you are quite the satirist, and look forward to visiting your blog!
Rhiannon--I'm so grateful we have a President who is kind, decent, smart, strong...and Peaceful!

jmsjoin said...

Obama does deserve the peace prize, he gives the entire world hope for a peaceful unified future!
His accomplishment is turning the world away from WW3 that Bush had us headed. The entire world feels hope with the exception of the Republicans who want him to fail at every time.

I think that is fantastic not because of his accomplishments but because of his efforts to unite the world. It is a bit ironic for the President of a country fighting two wars to win the peace prize.

However if he can bring peace to the middle east and bring Afghanistan to a successful conclusion. This award will be a fitting tribute and a message to the entire world to cooperate with Obama. This is big! A peace prize for hope not accomplishments man are we desperate!

Now let's see what the world does with the foundation President Obama has laid!

We lost any hope for the future because of Bush's war mongering and the world unifying to take the US on! The entire world now sees hope for the future once again. There may be peace yet!

I have been listening to people laughing about Obama getting the prize saying he did nothing! It was mentioned that Reagan should have gotten it.

Hell Reagan started the mess with with his over spending and war mongering that Bush was following. Obama is the shining knight the entire world has been waiting for.

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Average Patriot--Hi there! Hope you're feeling well. Indeed, Friday was a bright day!I too, have high hopes for what President Obama may accomplish.
Peace, Peace, Peace!

Lydia said...

Isn't it remarkable, this time we are living now?! What history!
I love your final point and will happily repeat it to my conservative neighbor who will undoubtedly have something stupid to say about this sometime this weekend.

I view this Peace Prize award being given to President Obama as the greatest insurance policy ever. Surely, he will have it in his mind during all war meetings and all other struggles throughout his presidency.

(It's great news about your new doggie!)

Anonymous said...

Salon.com sums up Obama's win perfectly:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/10/09/obama/index.html

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

dia--Hi, thank you for stopping in! Headed to your blog later today, to play catch-up. Please do Friend-Request me, at Facebook, Lydia, using:
"Lisa Nanette Allender".
Anonoymous--Headed to Salon.com to read the editorial you linked...

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Anonymous--I read both the link you preferred(Glenn Greenwald) and Joan Walsh's take on the Nobel Peace Prize, and President Obama winning it, and I prefer Joan's tone.
We(and President Obama) still have a ways to go. But it's a great start, Anonymous.

Georg said...

Hallo Lisa,

President Obama is certainly one of the most respectable politicians of the day. Nevertheless, giving the price to him is kind of advance laurels, it is for intentions not for deeds.

I remember only once this price has been given to someone who really deserved the Nobel Peace Price: that was Ms Shirin Ebadi from Iran . She was and is fighting an unequal fight and is doing so with a very personal risk.

And there are others, like M. Beghin and Y. Arafat, both kind of recycled serial killers who got it and downgraded thus the price.

Last not least, what to give to Mr. Obama in case of success of his intentions?

Georg

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Georg--While this prize has been given "early" in many cases, I am grateful President Obama got it now. It gives momentum to his reach for PEACE.
I understand your uncertainty, as several friends have said this, also.
As to what to give him, once he succeeds...success in Peacemaking will be prize enough!!

Anonymous said...

It astounds me that this kind of thing would only make some people hate Obama, and democrats in general, more.

Hopefully though, much more good will come of this than ill will and resentment.

In any case, it made your day. And mine, when I read it (which, coincidentally, was right as it happened. I am rarely so current as I was that day. I got to tell everyone! haha)

Lisa Nanette Allender said...

Keith Wilson--Hi there! It did indeed "make my day" Peace, man, Peace!