Text 556, 137 rader
Skriven 2009-10-14 18:29:26 av Lee Lofaso (3:800/432.0)
    Kommentar till text 387 av Michiel Van Der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Nobel Prize to _whom_???
================================
Hello Michiel,

>MV>This is a farce.

>RB>Agreed, but since when have the Peace Prizes been non-political?

MVDV>They have always been of course.

The Nobel Peace Prize is based on reality, whether you consider
it as being a political award or not.

MVDV>But this is really overdoing it.

You're just jealous that a sitting U.S. President was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize.  But hey.  You are not the only European
who is jealous.  So please do not feel I am picking on you.  :)

MVDV>Keep in mind that the deadline for nominations closed on
MVDV>Februari 1st. He was barely in office for a week then.

So what?  So fucking what?  The man deserved the award.  Why?
Barack Hussein Obama deserved it "for his extraordinary efforts to
strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".
That is the short answer, as noted on the Nobel website.

>RB>Remember Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, and what became of their
>RB>"Paris Peace Accords" after the prize was awarded?

MVDV>At least Kissinger had had done _something_ when he got the
MVDV>prize. He worked hard for it. Too bad it didn't work out.

The Vietnam War continued for two years after Kissinger accepted
the award.  His counterpart, Le Duc Tho, chose to decline the award.

MVDV>But what has Obama done yet other than stating good
MVDV>intentions?

The Nobel website says it all.

>MV>The wise thing for Obama would be to decline.

>RB>Not really. He's a politician and politicians need symbols to impress
>RB>voters, so why refuse a wonderful symbol when it's offered?

MVDV>Because a rejection is a symbol too. Would a statement to
MVDV>the effect of "I do not deserve this. Not yet. Giving me
MVDV>the prize now would degrade the achievement of all the
MVDV>others that got it before me." Would that not imprees the
MVDV>voters just the same?

President Barack Hussein Obama was very humble, saying himself
that he does not deserve the award, but chose to accept the award,
calling it a "call to action."

MVDV>How would you feel if MIT started giving degrees to freshman?

I'd be ecstatic if I was a freshman at MIT.  :)

MVDV>My fellow student Gerard t'Hoofd got the Nobel prize for
MVDV>his theory on the intermediate vector boson. He had to wait
MVDV>20+ years for it...

He should have started his work sooner.  Then he would not have
had to wait so long.

>RB>The prize just makes it harder for the voters to reject a bid for a
>RB>second term, all in his interest.

MVDV>And a properly arguemented rejection would not?

Even before being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize folks could not
resist voting for The One.  Now that The One is a Nobel Laureate,
nobody will be able to resist voting for him.

MVDV>Anyway. Water under the bridge. He has accepted. Ten
MVDV>Brownie points deducted from his record....

His popularity ratings in the polls are going up...

>RB>But, and this you should note, there's a difference between "wise" an
>RB>"honest" ;-))

MVDV>For politicians anyway...

The One is the most wisest and honest of them all.

>RB>P.S. I've never heard of the (ethnic German) woman who won the Nobel
>RB>prize for literature this year either,

MVDV>Neither have I, but I do not follow what happens in literature.

Them Norwegian dudes should get out more, Frauleins being very
beautiful.  RB can certainly attest to that.  :)

>RB>and based on the description assume this was also a politically
>RB>motivated prize.

MVDV>Can't say, have not followed it.

Man is both a social and a political creature.  As such, man cannot
help himself but to make political decisions.  However, that does not
take away from the fact that the Nobel Peace Prize is based on reality.

>RB>The prizes for chemistry have long been for discoveries in biology or
>RB>biological chemistry rather than for true chemical achievements as in
>RB>the 1960s and 1970s.

MVDV>It is not uncommon to formally award the prize for a "safe" subject.
MVDV>Einstein got it for his work on photon emission, not for the theory
MVDV>of relativity.

Ha!  You cheated!  You logged on to the Nobel website, where it
says very clearly that Einstein's Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) was
"for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his
discovery of the law of the photelectric effect."

MVDV>There was still too much dispute about theory of relativity while
MVDV>his emission theory was widely accepted. But of course he would not
MVDV>have gotten the prize if his emission theory was his only
MVDV>achievement...

It took many lectures by Einstein to explain how his theory of
relativity worked...

>RB>In many cases, I've also seen politics in the selections.

MVDV>To wrongs do not make a right.

And yet, that is almost always how wars start.

--Lee


 * SLMR 2.1a * Bumper Sticker: THINK OUTSIDE THE FOX

--- Maximus 3.01
 * Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.mooo.com (3:800/432)