2012 Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded To The EU

2012 Nobel Peace Prize Is Awarded To The European Union -- Washington Post

LONDON — The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a choice that celebrates Europe’s post-World War II economic and political integration but comes as the 27-nation body confronts widespread criticism over its handling of a massive debt crisis that is by far the biggest challenge of its existence.

The award honored the struggle in Europe to not only hold the union together in the wake of the debt crisis, but also to deepen integration across a vast swath of the region stretching from the isles of Greece to the Scottish Highlands, from the ports of Portugal to northern Finland.

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More News And Commentary On The European Union Winning The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize

Mired in Crisis, European Union Wins Nobel Peace Prize -- New York Times
Crisis-hit Europeans see cruel joke in EU Nobel -- Reuters
Nobel Peace Prize: How unusual is the EU's award? -- Valeria Criscione, Christian Science Monitor
Nobel Peace Prize Sows Discord – And Laughter -- Catherine Mayer, Time
The wrong Europe wins the Nobel Peace Prize -- Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph

My Comment: What's my take .... I am just rolling my eyes. It is NATO that has preserved the peace in Europe, and it is the EU's rigid political and economic structure that has brought (and is bringing) incredible pain and suffering to member states like Greece, Spain, and others. As usual .... the Nobel committee is showing it's ideological bent and agenda.

Who Are The Favorites To Win This Year's Nobel Peace Prize?

Who Are Favorites To Win Nobel Peace Prize? -- ABC News

Who's going to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday?

As usual, the names of this year's 241 candidates for the award have been kept secret, but that hasn't stopped the speculation. All the buzz is that one of the activists involved in the Arab Spring will get the phone call from Stockholm a few minutes before the official announcement.

According to insiders, the frontrunners include Israa Abdel Fattah, cofounder of April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni, and Egyptian Google executive Wael Ghonim.

If any of them do win, they will be the youngest Peace Laureate ever, with all three are in their late 20s or early 30s. The youngest to date is Irish peace campaigner Mairead Corrigan, who was 32 years old when she won in 1976.

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More News On Who Will Win This Year's Nobel Peace Prize

AP Interview: Nobel Peace Prize winner chosen -- AP
EU, Arab Spring favorites for Nobel Peace Prize -- CBS News/AP
Arab Spring, Africa high in Nobel peace prize talk -- Reuters
Nobel Peace Prize: Could Facebook or Twitter win? -- The Telegraph
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg up for the Nobel Peace Prize? -- L.A. Times
Arab Spring galvanizers, WikiLeaks among Nobel contenders -- CNN
A closer look at the Nobel Peace Prize -- CNN
The Most Controversial Nobel Peace Prize Winners -- MSNBC

Arab Spring To Dominate Nobel Peace Prize Decision

Arab Spring to Dominate Nobel Peace Prize, Institute Says -- Bloomberg

The so-called Arab Spring, which has displaced regimes in the Middle East and North Africa, will dominate this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Peace Research Institute Oslo said.

The top three candidates who may get the prize include two Egyptians and one Tunisian, Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the institute which ranks potential winners, said in an interview today. The institute doesn’t help choose the winners.

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My Comment: If Lina Ben Mhenni is recognized by the Nobel committee, it would be the first time that a blogger has received such a reward.

Wikileaks Gets Nominated For The Nobel Peace Prize

WikiLeaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize -- Voice of America

A Norwegian lawmaker has nominated WikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, stating that the secret-spilling website is one of the most important contributors to freedom of speech in the 21st century.

Lawmaker Snorre Valen said that by disclosing information about corruption, human rights abuses and war crimes, WikiLeaks is a "natural contender" for the peace prize.

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More News On Wikileak's Nomination For The Nobel Peace Prize

WikiLeaks among nominees for Nobel Peace Prize -- Reuters
WikiLeaks Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize -- NPR/AP
WikiLeaks nominated for Nobel Peace Prize -- ABC News Online (Australia)
WikiLeaks gets a Nobel nomination -- UPI
Norwegian MP nominates Wikileaks for Nobel Peace Prize -- The Register
WikiLeaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian Lawmaker Snorre Valens -- Associated Content
A Nobel Peace Prize For WikiLeaks? -- NPR

Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony May Be Cancelled For The First Time In 106 Years

The Peace Prize War -- The Independent

Nobel ceremony may be cancelled, for the first time in 106 years, after China threatens diplomats in row over jailed dissident.

For the first time in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize the award may not be handed out this year after a strenuous campaign by the Chinese government to stop one of its citizens, the jailed human rights campaigner Liu Xiaobo, receiving the honour.

Under Nobel Prize rules, the 10 million kronor (£880,000) award can only be collected by the laureate or a close family member.

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More News On This Year's Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

Parts of Nobel Peace ceremony may be delayed -- Washington Post
The Actual Award Of The Nobel Peace Prize May Be Skipped -- NPR
China Accused Of Nobel Ceremony 'Sabotage' -- SKY News
Six Nations Turn Down Invitations To Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony -- RTT News
Six countries turn down Nobel ceremony invite: Institute -- AFP
Under pressure: Six nations to skip Nobel gala -- MSNBC
Japan to send envoy to Nobel peace award ceremony -- Reuters

Did China Conduct A Cyber Attack On The Nobel peace Prize Website?

Was China Behind Cyber Attack On Nobel Peace Prize Website? -- Christian Science Monitor

Tuesday's cyber attack on the Nobel Peace Prize website came less than three weeks after Norway awarded the prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobao.

The Norway-based Nobel Peace Prize’s website was the target of a cyber attack on Tuesday, just weeks after the controversial decision to award the prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo. The timing has led some tech experts to believe the attack may have originated in China.

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My Comment: Let us just say that the timing of this attack was very coincidental.

Chinese Dissident Awarded The Nobel Peace Prize

Xiaobo's Nobel Proves China Is More Than Its Rulers -- Foreign Policy

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo should remind the world of two things about China: one pessimistic, one optimistic. The former: The Chinese Communist Party is accustomed to controlling all politics at home and has not loosened its grip on political debate one iota. The latter: Liu is one Chinese of many who are fighting for, indeed risking their lives for, democratic change in China.

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More News on The Nobel Peace Prize Being Awarded To Chinese Dissident Liu Xiaobo

Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel Peace Prize -- L.A. Times
Nobel laureate's wife: China should be proud -- Reuters
China blanks Nobel Peace prize searches -- CNN
Chinese human rights campaigners celebrate as Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel peace prize -- The Guardian
From radical critic to moderate dissident -- Financial Times
Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Prize Unwelcome News for China -- CBS News
Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo: Inside the heart of a gentle 'subversive' -- L.A. Times
Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel Peace Prize: a profile -- The Telegraph
Nobel peace prize: the contender who shares a cell with five people -- The Guardian
A deserved Nobel -- The Telegraph editorial
Nobel Peace Prize for Liu Xiaobo: a boost for democratic ideals in China -- Christian Science Monitor editorial

My Comment: I would bet that even though much of the world knows that he is this year's recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize .... unless the guards in the prison told him (which I doubt and which I believe he will still not believe them if they did) .... he is probably not aware of his Nobel Peace Prize, and will not until his wife tells him at some future date.

President Obama Talks About War While Accepting His Peace Prize

Barack Obama was awarded the prize for efforts to
strengthen international diplomacy. Photo AFP

Obama Defends War At Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony -- AFP

OSLO — US President Barack Obama on Thursday accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, uncomfortably acknowledging his role as a leader at war while insisting that conflict can be morally justified.

Obama's elevation to a pantheon of winners alongside the likes of Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King before he has even spent a year in office has sparked international debate.

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More News On President Obama And The Peace Prize

Obama: Peace is goal, but war sometimes justified -- AP
Barack Obama accepts Nobel Peace Prize with stern defence of war -- Times Online
Text of Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech -- AP

My Comment: President Obama is no Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King .... not even close. But the selection of President Obama was a clear attempt by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to influence U.S. foreign policy .... it will not work .... a realization that is probably dawning on them now.

Why The Nobel Peace Prize Should Go To Nuclear Weapons

Smoke billowing 20,000 feet above Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, after the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city. The Japanese city of Hiroshima has marked the 64th anniversary of the world's first atomic attack as its mayor called for the total abolition of nuclear weapons in the coming decade. (AFP/The National Archives/File)

From Yahoo News/Time Magazine:

President Barack Obama's Nobel peace surprise was given "primarily for his work on and commitment to nuclear disarmament," according to Agot Valle, a Norwegian politician who served on the award committee. Valle told the Wall Street Journal that the stewards of the prize wanted to "support" Obama's goal, as expressed recently at the United Nations, "of a world without nuclear weapons."

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My Comment: An interesting and contrary point of view.

So Much For General McChrystal's Troop Surge For Afghanistan

President Barack Obama comments on winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize while delivering a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, October 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Obama Is Surprise Winner Of Nobel Peace Prize -- Reuters

WASHINGTON/OSLO (Reuters) - Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision that honored the first-year U.S. president more for promise than achievement and drew both praise and skepticism around the world.

The bestowal of one of the world's top accolades on a president less than nine months in office, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, was greeted with gasps of astonishment from journalists at the announcement in Oslo.

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My Comment: I have been lucky in my life to be in an audience in which I had the opportunity to listen to four Nobel Peace Prize winners .... Andrei Sakharov, Lech Walesa, Desmond Tutu, and (this past weekend in Montreal) the Dalai Lama.

President Obama does not measure up (even close) to these men. Maybe he will one day .... but not today.

The intent and purpose of the Nobel Committee in selecting President Obama for this year's prize was obvious .... to influence and manipulate U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and Iran. How can President Obama now send 40,000 troops to Afghanistan and/or permit an attack on Iran's nuclear faciltiies when he now has this honor ..... at least that is the Nobel Committee's intent.

On a personal note .... when I heard the news this morning .... I had to laugh at the Nobel Committee and .... which is something that I have never have done to any President before .... I was laughing at President Obama. I can also add that after reading the international news media outlets .... with the exception of those who are devoted to President Obama in the United States and the entire country of Norway .... the rest of the world is also laughing.

I can also guarantee one more thing, tonight's Jay Leno, Conan O'Brian, David Letterman, John Stewart shows are going to be a must see tonight .... I am sure the jokes are going to fly.

If there is one person in the world who must not be happy with this selection .... it has to be President Clinton. After all the work that he has done .... his Global initiative, raising billions to fight poverty, foreign aid and promoting world peace .... he is ignored (again). Sighhh .... don't worry Mr. President .... if President Obama can get the Prize, you are a shoe in for the next one.