The Nobel Peace Prize

[poliphilo]

Here's a list of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize

I've got to admit I draw a blank on most of these names. 

A lot of them were diplomats who were simply doing their jobs.

There are one or two real jokers in the pack. Teddy Roosevelt- who loved nothing better than charging up hills with a revolver in his fist- got the prize for brokering a deal between Russia and Japan. Henry Kissinger got it for agreeing to end a war he'd previously been pursuing with vigour.

And then there's Yasser Arafat.  His citation was probably not the only one which- with hindsight- seems slightly premature.

Several of the recipients had nothing to do with promoting world peace but got it simply for being good eggs and an example to us all- among them Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.  

On several occasions the award has gone to organisations- like the Red Cross or Medecins Sans Frontiers- and quite often it hasn't been awarded at all.
 
It's a barmy prize with a barmy history. The award to Barack Obama is hardly out of keeping.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No, it's not Obama's fault. He's a new leader, struggling with inherited problems, who has made a good impression abroad without actually achieving anything yet. He didn't ask for the citation.