The other Awards Obama will will this year...

[kandrathe]

Time has some fun with photoshop -- The other awards Obama will win this year.

[--Pete]

Hi,

Time has some fun with photoshop

Mildly humorous. Thanks.:)

--Pete

[Jester]

His amazing work on the photoopportunity effect is also almost sure to cop a Physics Nobel.

-Jester

[kandrathe]

His amazing work on the photoopportunity effect is also almost sure to cop a Physics Nobel.

-Jester

I hear that he's been nominated for a humanitarian award at the 61st annual Bambi's awards for his work with underprivileged Taliban and Al Queda and the new strict rules of engagement in Afghanistan.

[Sir_Die_alot]

For a brief moment I seriously thought it was a joke or a misunderstanding when I saw it on the news, then I realized it wasn't fox I was waching. I guess the prize has been a bit of a joke for some years now anyway, more of an international popularity contest award than anything else. I don't know if this is a mark of we live in relatively peaceful times or just a jaded era.

[Ashock]

To make this even better, the nominations went out I believe in February. So by the time he was nominated, he was in office for a few weeks. Of course I'm sure he deserves the prize as much now as he did then... and as much as he will 2 years from now. Then again, he joins Yassir Arafat in the illustrious ranks of Nobel Peace Prize winners, so justice has been served.

[kandrathe]

Time has some fun with photoshop -- The other awards Obama will win this year.

I propose the Nobel Committee add a prize for humor, and in the inaugural year, award it to themselves for their selection of their own peace prize.

[eppie]

Time has some fun with photoshop -- The other awards Obama will win this year.

It was an easy one for him. Everybody would have won it after taking over from Bush (probably even McCain), it is a case of looking good by comparison.
And of course he was nominated when he was in office just 3 months.....but the decission has been made later.
But the fact that despite having this big economic crisis the world seems a much nicer place, with people just treating eachother normally again is a big thing....the fact that any other president would also have won it after the GW Bush disaster is not an argument not to award the prize.

[kandrathe]

It was an easy one for him. Everybody would have won it after taking over from Bush (probably even McCain), it is a case of looking good by comparison.
And of course he was nominated when he was in office just 3 months.....but the decision has been made later.
But the fact that despite having this big economic crisis the world seems a much nicer place, with people just treating each other normally again is a big thing....the fact that any other president would also have won it after the GW Bush disaster is not an argument not to award the prize.

Just a nit; He was nominated 2 weeks after taking office.

But, I agree with you that this is an anti-Bush statement to the US. I think it should have gone to Morgan Tsvangirai, or Piedad Cordoba, but then again I'm a rational human being (most days).

It is obvious that this award given by political hacks has become nonsensical, and giving it to Obama for charm, even tops giving it to Al Gore for flying around the world in his private jet telling people how much he cares about the environment. What I wonder is when Nobel’s will, which says the peace award should go “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” will be honored. The US is increasing forces in Afghanistan, hasn't pulled out of Iraq, and in fact has done nothing in the past year to make the world a safer place. I'd say the world is less safe than a year ago, less bellicose, yes, and also less safe.

[eppie]

Just a nit; He was nominated 2 weeks after taking office.

But, I agree with you that this is an anti-Bush statement to the US. I think it should have gone to Morgan Tsvangirai, or Piedad Cordoba, but then again I'm a rational human being (most days).

It is obvious that this award given by political hacks has become nonsensical, and giving it to Obama for charm, even tops giving it to Al Gore for flying around the world in his private jet telling people how much he cares about the environment. What I wonder is when Nobel’s will, which says the peace award should go “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” will be honored. The US is increasing forces in Afghanistan, hasn't pulled out of Iraq, and in fact has done nothing in the past year to make the world a safer place. I'd say the world is less safe than a year ago, less bellicose, yes, and also less safe.

So easy Kandrathe.
Cordoba was accused of having realtions with farc and Tsvangirai just wants to become prime minister. Giving him the prize would be a political statement against Mugabe. A statement we could probably all agree with but still a statement.

You quote exactly why Obama won this prize ****to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations**** there has been no-one last year who has done more. Again, he could do this because he is the president of the most powerful nation in the world and not a politician in a small third world country. A direct removal of all troops from Afghanistan and Iraq would not have been a very wise idea, so he didn't do this.


Maybe as a US citizen you don't realize this but relations of the US with many countries in this world was absolutely horrible during the Bush reign. Now things are much nicer. Again, maybe it was just because he was 'the guy after Bush' but then Nobel shouldn't have made the statement you quoted, and just give the award to the guy with the best intentions, and not looked at the overal results.


ps and the prize to Gore also has proven to be a visionarry thing. OK, Gore uses lots of energy, has a private plane, probably wasn't accurate with the truth in his movie (which I didn't see) but the influence on the normal guy (so not on the scientific part of global warming which was cleared up alrrady 10 years ago) has been tremendous. Maybe also helped by the economic crisis which made car manufacturers change course, but still.

In that respect....I think the prize in economics is much more a useless award.

[Jester]

It is obvious that this award given by political hacks has become nonsensical, and giving it to Obama for charm, even tops giving it to Al Gore for flying around the world in his private jet telling people how much he cares about the environment.

The award was given to Al Gore, but also to the IPCC - this was an award for raising global awareness of climate change. That's not a partisan political issue, and it's not an award for personal fastidiousness in reducing carbon emissions (which, as I argued with Zenda earlier, wouldn't have helped much anyway - fuel not used by Gore would be sopped up elsewhere). Given the constant rancor that has been spewed at Gore from the Right ever since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, whatever he did, it seems to have worked.

-Jester

[kandrathe]

The award was given to Al Gore, but also to the IPCC - this was an award for raising global awareness of climate change. That's not a partisan political issue, and it's not an award for personal fastidiousness in reducing carbon emissions (which, as I argued with Zenda earlier, wouldn't have helped much anyway - fuel not used by Gore would be sopped up elsewhere). Given the constant rancor that has been spewed at Gore from the Right ever since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, whatever he did, it seems to have worked.

-Jester

Yes, because of the IPCC and Al Gore the horrors of the eco-wars were averted. :wacko: Which is why ecology and peace are obviously linked.



Peas in our time!

More to the point -- my objection (which I think we've discussed also) to Al Gore is that he is a snake oil salesman hoping to get rich by being party to the agencies that sell eco-indulgences to the politically correct masses who will need to pay for their pollution (like exhaling CO2). I would rather we focus on removing the SIN of pollution, rather than selling forgiveness. Because, just as it was with the Catholic Church's indulgences, the rich will be able to afford their SIN, and the poor will need to either be pious, or poor, or both. I think the Rancor was also released because of the inconvenient half truths, outright exaggerations, and misinterpretations presented as "science" -- like any good propaganda... it's mostly based on some truth... at least the truth he wanted you to know about.

[Jester]

Yes, because of the IPCC and Al Gore the horrors of the eco-wars were averted. :wacko: Which is why ecology and peace are obviously linked.

They gave one to Norman Borlaug for his work in preventing hunger, which isn't "peace" either - until you consider the likelihood of severe conflicts arising from mass starvation. If climate change is not at least strongly mitigated, the shifts in land usage and sea level alone would create an enormous refugee problem - one which would all but inevitably lead to bloodshed.

So, yes. Peace.

More to the point -- my objection (which I think we've discussed also) to Al Gore is that he is a snake oil salesman hoping to get rich by being party to the agencies that sell eco-indulgences to the politically correct masses who will need to pay for their pollution (like exhaling CO2).

Uh hunh. Nevermind that what he's "selling" he's been "selling" since long before it was going to make him a nickel. Nevermind that what he says is pretty much exactly what the IPCC says, what almost the entire field of climatology has said.

Al Gore's political record as an environmentalist starts in the seventies. But I guess in your world he's just been waxing his mustache and cackling madly ever since, waiting *decades* for his snake oil recipe to finally pay off.

I would rather we focus on removing the SIN of pollution, rather than selling forgiveness.

So would Al Gore. Your point?

I think the Rancor was also released because of the inconvenient half truths, outright exaggerations, and misinterpretations presented as "science" -- like any good propaganda... it's mostly based on some truth... at least the truth he wanted you to know about.

The movie is relatively accurate, as far as anything in pop format is ever going to be on an absurdly complex topic like climate. It represented the state of climatology, and climatologists have said so. If *you* don't like it, that's fine and dandy, but that's hardly something that can be held against Al Gore. His information was more or less straight out of the IPCC textbook, the basic findings of the field, because that's who he got it from. Nothing's perfect, but the basic science - and therefore the basic message - about global warming is intact.

-Jester

Afterthought: Also, could we quit with the "exhaling" garbage? That stuff might fly with Michelle Malkin, but anyone with half a wit in their heads can see that the quantity of CO2 produced by *breathing* is, to make the pun, breathtakingly tiny, and completely irrelevant to the problem?

[Occhidiangela]

But, I agree with you that this is an anti-Bush statement to the US.

I am not George W Bush, send me a Nobel Prize.

[Vandiablo]

I am not George W Bush, send me a Nobel Prize.

I've read on the internet that you are a secret G.W. Bush, biding your time and waiting until you achieve power to advance your hidden agenda.

You can deny it all you want, I know what I want to believe.

-V

[kandrathe]

Afterthought: Also, could we quit with the "exhaling" garbage? That stuff might fly with Michelle Malkin, but anyone with half a wit in their heads can see that the quantity of CO2 produced by *breathing* is, to make the pun, breathtakingly tiny, and completely irrelevant to the problem?

Breathing is a smaller problem compared to the carbon footprint of the breather, especially if they are prone to drive SUV's and travel by airplane. I don't see a tax per breath, but rather a tax per breather.

[Zenda]

Breathing is a smaller problem...

It's not a smaller problem. It's not a problem at all, unless the CO2 you currently exhale was taken in by your body millions of years ago, when the equilibrium was different.

[Jester]

Breathing is a smaller problem compared to the carbon footprint of the breather, especially if they are prone to drive SUV's and travel by airplane. I don't see a tax per breath, but rather a tax per breather.

Tax carbon emissions directly, you get the incentives perfectly lined up - use less carbon, pay less taxes. If you tax per "breather", you're taxing them for existing (which they are unlikely to stop doing), but not in any way giving them an incentive to burn less carbon. Failure to adjust the marginal values equals failure to deal with the problem.

-Jester

[Jester]

Tom Tomorrow weighs in, with a rather clear explanation: The Idea of Obama.

http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2009/10/13/tomo/

-Jester

[kandrathe]

Tom Tomorrow weighs in, with a rather clear explanation: The Idea of Obama.

http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2009/10/13/tomo/

-Jester

Exactly. Both illusions, and the real thing. Although, I'm still suspicious of the totalitarian socialist state side less the ridiculousness of an Acorn conspiracy and the birther nonsense. I don't think people really understand the idea of creeping socialism, and how insidious totalitarianism can be. Once you have a government monopoly over an industry, it is a short step to justify stamping out any competition and the underground economy by making private contracts illegal. Then, given the circumstances, it is then easily justifiable to stamp out the dissent by making dissent illegal. Astroturf my latex buttocks.

Today our Senate finance committee voted on a bill that actually doesn't even exist yet. Forget about voting on bills that haven't been read. This is a vote on one that hasn't even been written. It is a concept of the merger of two very disparate bills that will be merged behind closed doors by a handful of Dems, and then the umpteen gazillion pages will be put to a vote before anyone can read or fully comprehend it's impact. And... like all politics, politicians keep going through the motions until the populace bores of the process and instead tune into the NFL, Nascar, Dancing with the Stars or the WWF.

We really don't deserve freedom if we are not willing to stand vigilantly for it.