34 thoughts on “Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. “If so, the Swedes are telling us that’s all to the good.”

    Actually, this Nobel is decided by Norwegians. All other Nobels by the Swedish.

  2. Ironic beyond words.
    At the moment we are occupying TWO countries. Obama back-stepped on dealing with Israel.
    It is likely (imo) that Obama will follow the general’s recommendation for 60,000 more troops in Afghanistan. [It wd take backbone to not, something our president does not have a lot of.]

    The incomparable Naomi Klein points out that the Prize is supposed to be given to reward and acknowledge accomplishments, not for a “hope”.

    She suggests a doctor in the Congo, who at great risk to his life, continues to try to save and repair women who have been victims of unspeakable sexual attacks. A Prize awarded to him could really have meant something.

    Naomi’s response to the giving of the award:
    http://www.Democracynow.org
    – today’s show.

  3. this saddens me. there’s not enough support and no one’s going to be able to enjoy it. i mean, is “not george bush” our standard now?

  4. I think this was a genius move, and a very shrewd one.

    I agree with Richard Silverstein, ….as much as I admire and like Obama, he has not yet merited the Nobel prize.

    But as i said it’s a superb move, for the Swedes omitted to mention, that Obama’s lead will be followed by other leaders. Since he has a platform (do not discount his celebrity status) this was probably a nudge to him, to not to despair and give in to his detractors…kind of like encourage him on, in a subtle but very powerful way.

  5. The Nobel “peace” has been degraded ever since the mass muderer Henry Kissinger received it back in the 1970s.

    Still the award will make it harder for Obama to attack Iran.
    And that is all to the good.

    1. “The Nobel ‘peace’ has been degraded ever since the mass murderer Henry Kissinger received it back in the 1970s.”

      As well as since Arafat received it in ’94.

      1. Nonsense. `Arafat actually negotiated a peace deal with Israel and shook hands on it with Yitzhak “break their bones” Rabin. The fact that Israel followed up by escalating confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territory, and increasing restriction of Palestinians’ freedom of movement and demolition of Palestinians’ homes was hardly `Arafat’s fault.

    2. To be fair, Kissinger actually earned the “peace” side of the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the end of the Yom Kippur War. That’s more than you can say for Obama – or for a number of the recent Nobel Peace Prize winners, for that matter.

      1. Sorry Brett Kissinger got his prize for his role in negotiating the end of the Vietnam war, nothing to do with the October war of 1973. As Wikipedia puts it: “He was awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for helping to establish a ceasefire and US withdrawal from Vietnam.”

    3. Still the award will make it harder for Obama to attack Iran.

      I wouldn’t count on that. According to one report in the US MSM Obama’s Pentagon is readying itself fro just such an attack.

  6. They got the wrong Barak. The man who truly deserves this prize is Ehud Barak for bringing peace to the residents of Sderot and the other communities surrounding the Gaza strip.

    1. Let it be known that I emited a harsh, dry laugh when I read this joke. Barak will win the Nobel Prize for most washed up IDF chief of staff who’s led his parties into oblivion & made his name assassinating Palestinians while dressed as a woman.

    2. Riiiight. He brought great peace to the residents of Sderot by completing destroying the near-complete peace that the ceasefire brought them until Barak decided to bring back the rocket fire by violating the ceasefire so severely on November 4 that Hamas rightfully considered it prematurely over, and resumed firing after going nearly five months without firing a single rocket.

      According to the Israeli government itself, the right wing ITIC, and the U.N., Hamas was “determined to keep the ceasefire”, did not fire at Israel at all from the first day until Israel violated the ceasefire so egregiously on November 4 & 5, and did a creditable job of restraining other groups that had not agreed to the ceasefire. Overall Hamas restraint of its own members, and groups not under its control resulted in a 99% reduction of rocket fire, and this despite the fact that Israel broke the ceasefire repeatedly during the first week or so, and refused to comply with many of its most important obligations under the ceasefire agreement. Also according to reports issued by the Israeli government, the ITIC, and the U.N. the group that fired the majority of the rockets was – get ready – Mahmoud Abbas’s own Fatah.

  7. On second thought, it’s good we got that out of the way. Now that Obama got his Nobel Peace Prize, he doesn’t have to spend the next 3 to 7 years trying to get it at Israel’s expense. Must be a Zionist conspiracy.

  8. this saddens me. there’s not enough support (realistically so!) for him to be awarded. it will only help his detractors. i agree with what many are saying, that it cheapens the award… i also think it cheapens obama by inflating him to this level. i mean, is “not george bush” now our standard?

  9. Brilliant to use the Nobel in a dynamic way, not the first time such a risk has been taken with the prize ( think Arafat) especially at this critical time in the hope that it will help Obama have the courage of his stated convictions. As well reading the rationale, he actually deserves it for the spirit and hope he produced and renewed in the world.. inspiring visionary speeches don’t mean nothing, don’t count for nothing. If people climb off of their too high expectations (understandable b/c of the need) down to reality, the reality that is upon not Obama alone, not entirely up to him, his contribution so far to this troubled world, in these last 9 months has been deserving.

    Rather he should get this now when it may help.

  10. First of all, his Cairo speech was not all that, and not everyone was as impressed as the publicity would indicate. Second, to a large extent his actions – and in some case his lack of action – have belied whatever pretty words he did utter in that speech.

    As for his great work in the area of nuclear arms, other than falsely accuse Iran what has he actually done? Has he taken any steps to reduce nuclear arms in the U.S.? On the contrary, an initiative of the Bush administration to create the first new nuclear warheads in years and to significantly increase the U.S. nuclear stockpile appears very much alive. Has he challenged Israel at all regarding its “secret” nuclear stockpile? Not that anyone knows of.

    And what has he done in the interest of peace? Well, he is playing an interesting shell game in Iraq, supposedly withdrawing combat troops from the cities, while still having troops patrolling the cities. He has escalated the violence significantly in Afghanistan. And one of his first acts after taking the oath of office was to sign off on bombing operations in Pakistan which resulted in the deaths of tens of Pakistani civilians, including a number of children. And most recently he made political hay hyping Iran’s “secret” nuclear facility near Qum, which Iran had already reported to the IAEA in full compliance with its obligations under the NPT, and threatened that Iran had better agree to inspections “or else”, ignoring the fact that Iran had already invited the IAEA to send inspectors when it reported the facility. And of course, he had to make the fear-mongering announcement that this facility was inappropriate for anything but the creation of weapons-grade material, a claim that some experts have questioned. Oh yes, and according to recent reports in mainstream media sources Obama’s Pentagon has an active plan to attack Iran.

    And then there is the little matter of his administration’s reaction to the Goldstone report, the ease with which they caved in to Netanyahu on the continued colonization of Palestinian land, and their lack of concern about the increasing strangulation of Gaza, which is worse now than before the assault of December and January, despite the fact that Hamas called a ceasefire on January 18.

    No. Obama has not done anything whatsoever to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, as he himself to his credit has recognized.

    1. thanks for your excellent post.

      Obama is intelligent, he’s got presence, he’s elegant even… in word and look. He’s so “not Bush”. He’s a great orator.

      So what?

      Since when are a politician’s ideals defined by his or her words?!
      Words are just that – words – words can mislead or lead.

      The way some people judge Obama by what he says and how he says it, is like seeing an actor on the stage and thinking that because that actor portrays an evil person, the actor is an evil person.

      There is reality and there is portrayal. And many people are never going to get the difference in the case of Obama. I think it is because they have so much invested in “Obama, the savior” or some version of that.
      And then coming right after Bush – Bush is demonized and Obama is purified. So they seem polar opposites. But I don’t think so. Just different in degree.

      In foreign policy who is dropping bombs on civilians? And waging undeclared war on Pakistan?
      Abandonned Palestine. Ignored the environment. Throws his friends under the bus.(Van Jones)

      People refuse to recognize that we live in a duopoly – governed by one ideology with two wings, one a slightly softer version than the other.
      As long as people continue in this delusion that we have two parties with two different ideologies, nothing will change.

    2. According to the NYTimes ( David Sanger article 9/26/09) the Iranian plant was secretly being built and Iran was not at all in “full compliance” with the NPT. Iran admitted building this facility AFTER they found out that the US,the UK and France knew about it.

      Regarding Obama, after 9 months one can surely look at all that he has not done and complain. Reactions to Obama winning the Nobel have been interesting, a Rorschach, and almost predictable.

      Rachel Maddow wasparticularly moving on why Obama deserves the prize-for what he has done so far ( as opposed to this prize being for encouragement and what he will do).

      1. Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, and Mr Ed are flaks for Obama.

        I watch each of them occasionally and I appreciate their guests, such as the health-industry whistle blower Wendell Potter AND journalist Glen Greenwald on the same show.

        But given the orgiastic pimping of these 3 for Obama, the absense of ANY criticism, they have no credibility.

  11. Unlike Obama, Ahmadinejad has a solid track record that should earn him the coveted peace prize
    1) He humiliated the American imperialists in Tehran in 1979
    2) He has stood up to American imperialists in Iraq, by killing a few hundred with EFPs
    3) He has stood up to zionism by sustaining Hamas and Hezbollah
    4) He has prevented misuse of the Holocaust by intellectual inquiry

    1. My what wit and snark you bear like a rapier to savage your enemies! Simply breathtaking. You should immediately stop wastiing your time publishing mere comments in my threads and pursue fame & glory writing for the Big Boys at TNR, Jerusalem Post & other pro-Israel scandal sheets.

  12. You read my mind. I am just using you as a steppingstone. Perhaps one day I will reach the big leagues. However, wouldnt Ahmadinejad getting a Nobel Peace Prize truly put ziocons in their place?

    1. Rave on, Macduff. Maybe we can inaugurate the Nobel Prize for Hasbara. I don’t know if you’d make it this yr. But if you tried very hard in coming yrs I’m sure you’d be seriously considered.

      1. Well, at the rate that Nobel Prizes are being handed out for mere vision, perhaps Pulitzers can be handed out to journalists for mere name-calling.

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