Maybe you were shocked by the announcement of President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe you think this was inspiring and well deserved. I personally don't get and wanted to delve into the process a bit.
The Nobel Peace Prize nomination was February 1, 2009, and Barack Obama assumed office on January 20, 2009 -- 11 days max. At that point, he had no foreign affairs policy or experience.
So was the fix in?
My son and I were discussing how many Americans think we, the USA, pick the winners of these awards? I didn't know how the nomination process really works and who made the final decisions, but I've found out.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is composed of five individuals1, mostly politicians. (Yes, shocking isn't it?) Verifiable even with Wikipedia:
"The committee might receive well more than a hundred nominations and asks the Nobel Institute in February every year to research about twenty candidates."
Now let's look at the committee:
Thorbjorn Jagland
When you check the Jagland resume, you'll find that he was the prime minister of Norway, and that he was the leader of the Norwegian Labor Party for 10years.
Dig alittle deaper a this is also what you may find.
From 1999 through 2008, Jagland was Vice President of Socialist International. What’s that? It’s exactly what the name suggests – an international organization of socialist groups who advocate for far leftist, socialist policies. It also boasts of “consultative status” with the United Nations.
Socialist International: Progressive Politics for a Fairer World (from their website) also rejects the notion of “armed peace” between superpowers, and wants Europe to play a lead role in basically disarming everyone. See below for the 10-Point Plan for Disarmament.2 and there are ties to the Democratic Socialists of America.
Kaci Kullmann Five
After leaving Norwegian parliament in 1997, Kullmann has been a Managing Director at Aker RGI since 2002 and is a member of the Board of Directors in Statoil, Norway's largest oil company.
Statoil had been tied to corruption securing lucrative oil contracts with Iran and in August of 2008 did they sever these relationships. Pressure from the US and EU came as there was suspicion Iran was developing a nuclear program - imagine that 3
She's not been connected to any other organization that raised any red flags from what I've read.
Inger-Marie Ytterhorn
This is her resume: Senior political adviser to the parliamentary group of the right-wing populist Progress Party. Lawmaker from 1989-93. Member of the prize committee since 2000. The Progress Party wants to define itself as a "libertarian party" and has been expanding since 2005.
She told AP the prize could be seen as praising Obama's reversal of Bush administration policies: "I guess you could read it like that."4
Aagot Valle
She was lawmaker for the Socialist Left party. Joined the peace prize committee in 2009.
Expects Bush supporters to criticize decision to award Obama: "Those who were in support of Bush in his belief in war solving problems, on rearmament, and that nuclear weapons play an important role ... probably won't be happy."4
Sissel Marie Roenbeck
Labor Party lawmaker until 1993. Has held Cabinet posts as minister for administration and consumer affairs, environment and transport and communications. Member of the prize committee since 1994.
Mr. Jagland pointed to the 1971 prize to West German Chancellor Willy Brandt and the 1990 prize to Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev as two examples of the honor predating true achievement.
"One can say that Barack Obama is trying to change the world, just as those two personalities changed Europe," Mr. Jagland said. "We have to get the world on the right track again."
Ms. Valle, said she hoped the selection would be viewed as "support and a commitment for Obama."
"And I hope it will be an inspiration for all those that work with nuclear disarmament and disarmament," she said.5
Sounds like an agenda to me. Pre-emptive support, especially for disarmament and support from the European Socialists -- because the European socialists detest the idea of the United States as the world’s pre-eminent power.
Like the EU, we should give over international decision-making authority to groups like these to further the goal of a world in which socialist despots have just as much say in the affairs of the world as free, democratic nations.
We can see the agenda of the people who chose Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize, not to mention the fact that, for whatever reason, they see tremendous hope in him and in what they expect him to do.
The Norwegian Parliament chooses the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize as a political tool to influence American politics. Its prestige and moral power make the prize a potent weapon with which to help steer the direction of the colossus beyond the seas that controls a quarter of the world's economy and most of its military power.Now, the Norwegians have weighed in to support Barack Obama in his bid to reshape America so it looks more like, well, Norway, or at least like Europe.
Dick Morris wrote that "European socialism cannot succeed without conquering the United States. If the European Union has high taxes and the US keeps its levies low, business and brains will flow to America. If the EU's labor standards require long vacations, high benefits, and proscribe layoffs and ours' do not, employers will migrate across the ocean to do their business in the States. If the Old World curbs ambition by taxation, regulation, and social opprobrium, the ambitious will flock to the New World as they have done for four hundred years.
So, Lenin was right. Socialism cannot exist in just one country - or one continent. It must dominate worldwide or wealth and power will flow to those who remain committed to the free market. Europe realizes this reality and it makes Obama's election as president of the United States all the more welcome."
So let's reward it.
In Socialism good intentions outweigh results everytime.
1. http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/nomination_committee/members/
2. http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=1368
Didn't know the players, but now that I do, big surprise.
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