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The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

nobelpeaceprize.org

121–130 of 248 posts

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#121
post #78
post #21

Many in Norway and Sweden distanced themselves from the Nobel Peace Prize at the time it was awarded to Machado because it was obvious it was such a bad decision. Julian Assange even filed a criminal complaint in Sweden last month to try to stop the Swedish Nobel Foundation paying out over $1 million dollars to her, arguing it's going against Alfred Nobel's will, and they have a responsibility to respect his will. He…

Machado seems fine. There are always going to be controversies around any political figure, and the complaints ahead of the award were... kinda routine, I thought? She was an opposition leader who was denied power won by democratic election, and didn't start an insurrection or whatever. Checks the right boxes. Make the call and move on. Now, sure, she then went on to personally hand over the medal (or statue or whate…

The world's oldest peace organisation, the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society, distanced itself from the Nobel Peace Prize, writing in October:

"...it is becoming increasingly clear that she is a political actor who also gives her support to Trump and Israel, and with an agenda that stands far from peace, disarmament and reconciliation between peoples. Not least, her uncritical positions in favor of Israel, the USA's violations of international law in attacks against ships in the Caribbean and for a military intervention in Venezuela raise a multitude of questions about how the Nobel Committee made its choice."

https://www.facebook.com/svenskafreds/posts/pfbid02aoK2T5BdW...

In Norway, the Norwegian Peace council also distanced itself:

'The Norwegian Peace Council announced that it will not organize this year's traditional torchlight procession through downtown Oslo on the day the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded due to its disagreement with the choice of Venezuelan far-right politician María Corina Machado as the winner.

'The organization, which brings together 17 Norwegian pacifist organizations and some 15,000 activists, declared on Friday, October 24, that it made this decision because its members "do not feel that this year’s winner is in line with the fundamental values of the Norwegian Peace Council."'

https://orinocotribune.com/norwegian-peace-council-will-not-...

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#122
post #81

The other day I read this article about Grigori Perelman, Russian mathematician who declined to accept any medal or prize related to him solving the Poincaré conjecture. He declined the fields medals and millennium prize on the basis that he didn't view himself as a hero, and thought such awards were irrelevant. And then you have Trump, on the complete other side of that spectrum.

Perelman is a strange character; IIRC he declined several times first without bothering to give a reason. Then, after being asked enough times, came up with a "I am not a hero and such awards are irrelevant" as a somewhat acceptable version so those pesky folks would leave him alone. Thus I would not use him as an example of the right way to deal with a prestigious award. That said, the Nobel medal to Trump circus is…

Often in life the extreme ends of a spectrum are not “good” and “bad” but varying degrees of suboptimal.

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#124
post #20

The Nobel Peace Prize is meaningless. No matter who or why and to whome it was given. It has nothing to do with the other Nobel Prizes.

It also has a different committee awarding it - I guess every prize has - but this one is specifically, as designed, decided by a group of parliamentarians selected out of the Norwegian parliament, generally selecting some older ones and trying to represent every party. It's not academics or specialists in the area of peace and diplomacy.

I would say this is the peace prize's fundamental flaw.

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#125
post #21

Many in Norway and Sweden distanced themselves from the Nobel Peace Prize at the time it was awarded to Machado because it was obvious it was such a bad decision. Julian Assange even filed a criminal complaint in Sweden last month to try to stop the Swedish Nobel Foundation paying out over $1 million dollars to her, arguing it's going against Alfred Nobel's will, and they have a responsibility to respect his will. He…

The problem with the peace prize is it seems like its given out to people who they hope will bring peace instead of people who actually have brought peace.

We don't award the chemistry one to people with a promising research program, we award it to people who actually have discovered things that we actually know changed the field. If we awarded the peace prize based on actual accomishments judged with the benefit of hindsight instead of expected accomplishments, it would work a lot better.

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#126
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[dead]

No, Kissinger was far, far worse than any other recipient of the peace prize. Quote from Gary Bass, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University and author of "The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide:" "In at least one crucial part of the world, Kissinger’s legacy is fixed: In South Asia, Indians and Bangladeshis widely remember Kissinger as an unusually cruel and col…

Kissinger was a horrific choice. You get no quarrel from me on that. But the Obama thing was ridiculous and they should have waited longer before giving him it.

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#127
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve started to refer to it as the “Tony Soprano presidency”. It fits so much of the logic.

But Tony was a good businessman and also regretted entering certain aspects of the family business. My vote is for 13 year old boy's fantasy presidency.

A convenient explanation for Trumps ephebophilia/pedophilia.

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#128
That this even has to be clarified is just a joke.

I mean if I buy an oscar statue off Ebay, how many Oscars do I have? Zero. I have an oscar Statue. But no one cares how many Oscar Statues actors get. They care how many times they were awarded.

Wasn't there a similar story about some bravery medal (purple heart)?`

Re: The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[dead]

He got the prize before he did much mongering though. Also he didn’t try to overthrow an election he lost.

The peace prize is supposed to be about international matters. But somehow many people overlook his warmongering which comes close to Dubya's. Also his Standing Rock betrayal was disgusting.
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