Interesting that the author justifies Obama's Nobel Peace Prize by saying that as all the other previous recipients haven't achieved world peace, either, they must all be failures as well. Leaving aside that many past recipients have a documented history of violence as bad as Obama's, I was ecstatic to read this, because, as many of you already know, I have already launched my campaign for a Nobel Prize in Literature even though I have never published anything.

If Obama is entitled to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, despite having done nothing in the pursuit of peace, I believe that I am equally, if not more, deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize for Literature. For those of you who are interested in supporting me, it appears that not just anyone can nominate someone for the Prize:

Qualified Nominators

The right to submit proposals for the Nobel Prize in Literature shall, by statute, be enjoyed by:

1. Members of the Swedish Academy and of other academies, institutions and societies which are similar to it in construction and purpose;

2. Professors of literature and of linguistics at universities and university colleges;

3. Previous Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature;

4. Presidents of those societies of authors that are representative of the literary production in their respective countries.

My suggestion is that we start with the literature and linguistics faculty at UC Berkeley and Stanford, maybe we can persuade one of them to nominate me. I'm not certain that the Nobel Committee gives much credence to the departments at my alma mater, UC Davis. For those of you on the East Coast, you might try faculty at schools like Harvard, Yale, Duke and Columbia. Unfortunately, I don't have any contacts with any previous Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature. But, if you do, let me know how to get in contact with them. No stone must be left unturned.

Labels: American Empire, Barack Obama, Obama Cult

Apparently, according to the author, despite escalating the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and despite moving forward with the increased militarization of Central and South America through Plan Mexico and Plan Colombia, with a substantially increased US military presence there, Obama's Nobel Peace Prize is justified because the positive perception of the US around the world has increased dramatically since he took office. For those of us incapable of acknowledging it, the author describes us, in quite sophisticated fashion, as haters. Maybe, the committee will award the prize to Hill & Knowlton next year.

If one is insistent upon trying to discern a rational reason for the honor, don't dismiss the possibility that the committee presented it to Obama to discourage him from launching airstrikes against Iran. It would be rather embarrassing for a recipient to do something like that, now wouldn't it? Alternatively, the committee, with its Eurocentric orientation, may actually consider the violent actions of the US and NATO in the Middle East and Central Asia as an effort to promote peace, so, to the extent that Obama is successfully relegitimizing this effort, his achievements are, from the perverse perspective of the committee, achievements justifying the award. In any event, I think we have just experienced the high water mark of Obama glorification. Anyone with the slightest understanding of what has transpired since he became President knows that the award is ludicrous.

As for me, I'm launching my campaign for a Nobel Prize in Literature today. Of course, I haven't published anything, but I'm not letting that deter me. If you have a similar inclination, please, as a courtesy to me, direct your efforts towards a Nobel in science, medicine or economics. There are more than enough to go around.

Labels: Afghanistan, American Empire, Barack Obama, Neoliberalism, Obama Cult