New at Reason
Jesse Walker advises readers on how to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
Comments to "New at Reason":
VM | October 12, 2007, 4:05pm | #
JESSE FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!the winning (and this is disputed) of Florida was a great opening to a cool article. kudos!
snap snap snap!
Tuck | October 12, 2007, 4:09pm | #
"and to the Dalai Lama, who...actually, I'm not sure what the Dalai Lama does, but evidently it impresses a lot of people."lol...
Isaac Bartram | October 12, 2007, 4:10pm | #
You'll note that Gore has not actually stopped global warming.But you know he would if those reactionaries at Hit and Run weren't holding him back.
Marcvs | October 12, 2007, 4:15pm | #
and to the Dalai Lama, who...actually, I'm not sure what the Dalai Lama does, but evidently it impresses a lot of people.He's a very peaceful person who talks a lot about being peaceful. Plus, he's a little asian dude in a big robe that is always happy. Who better to give the Nobel to?
Oh, and some Hollywood types like to pretend they're Tibetan Buddhists, so that might have something to do with it.
In all seriousness, I saw him speak once and he's actually a pretty funny guy.
An Ottawa Reader | October 12, 2007, 4:15pm | #
In all fairness to the committee, could it be, like the Oscars, there isn't always in every single year a person or organization who clearly deserves the prize?"God, the nominees are a right shower this year..."
plus, Marcvs, he's a pretty good golfer. Big hitter, the Lama. Long.
Tuck | October 12, 2007, 4:30pm | #
I will give you no money but at the moment of your death you will have complete consciousness.So, I got that going for me, which is nice.
Russell | October 12, 2007, 4:52pm | #
" winning an Oscar is hard—you usually have to...spend hours in an uncomfortable period costume."Let it not be said that Al has not paid his Actors Equity dues- the rufus Laureate may be seen modeling the red asbestos union suit of his alter-ego , Underdog, at
http://adamant.typepad.com/seitz/2007/03/some_like_it_ho.html
Jesse, I believe this is your finest article yet. And that's not faint praise.
Kenny | October 12, 2007, 5:43pm | #
Minor quible. WW1 was not the most the pointless major war in American history. (and I am not talking about the current unpleasantness.) Rather, that distinction must go to the War of 1812.Ben Rushing | October 12, 2007, 6:05pm | #
Bravo! Bravo! I much doubt that Dick Cheny could win the Nobel Peace prize. He hasn't made any advancements in psudo science that promotes further taxation.Ben | October 12, 2007, 6:08pm | #
So how was the war of 1812 pointless? for who us or Britan?Disillusionist | October 12, 2007, 6:14pm | #
No, no, no! The War of 1812 was not pointless! It demonstrated:a) the U.S. Navy was capable of kicking the Royal Navy's ass (see U.S.S. Constitution, etc).
b) that the United States would continue to get along just fine if Washington, D.C. were burned to the ground - sadly, the last time this opportunity has been taken.
Syd Henderson | October 12, 2007, 7:26pm | #
The War of 1812 assured that the US could massacre Indians without interference from the British,in return for which we would stop getting creamed invading Canada.ed | October 12, 2007, 7:27pm | #
the United States would continue to get along just fine if Washington, D.C.were burned to the ground
Nice, but this presumes a Madison-like evacuation to the hinterlands, a scenario less-probable today, given beltway traffic during the British-Invasion Hour. Then again, would anyone really mind if the Brits captured Dubbya?
Jessica | October 12, 2007, 7:45pm | #
"Kill a lot of people, then stop."HILARIOUS (except for the part about it being, you know...true)
Also, I'd like to agree with 'Kenny'. Considering how no lands changed hands (all returned to the pre-war boundaries) and Britain didn't change its impressment/maritime policies, it didn't really accomplish much did it?
Basically, we fought a bunch of battles for the fishing rights to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. WHA-HOO.
Loren Svor | October 12, 2007, 8:54pm | #
Great post, with one quibble. That "brutal dictatorship" in Chile which Kissinger assisted prevented a civil war, promised to return the country to civil rule on a date certain, which it did, and laid the foundation for the most prosperous country in South America today. Some brutality! Kissinger has other problems, though, and in sum the point is valid.Paul | October 12, 2007, 10:43pm | #
Rather, that distinction must go to the War of 1812.When was the war of 1812?!!
Douglas Gray | October 12, 2007, 10:54pm | #
It is ironic that both Menachem Begin, who was head of the Irgun, a Jewish terrorist group that massacred 254 people, (Mostly women, children, and old men)at Deir Yassin in 1948, and Yassir Arafat, (who egged on numerous terrorist attacks on civilians) both got the prize. People who are bitter enemies are so often alike.So, kill a lot of people and wait a few years.
Rush Limbaugh called the award a "joke", but as we can see, there have been worse choices. Rush was acually nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize himself by an organization who said he promotes liberty. Maybe next year Rush!
newdaddy | October 12, 2007, 11:00pm | #
"the United States would continue to get along just fine if Washington, D.C. were burned to the ground"I don't know, does that sound even a wee bit like treason? Would this be any better or worse if it had been written in a liberal blog somewhere? Or uttered by bin Laden on his recent tape?
Washington DC is a city of nearly 600000 people, and last time I checked it was part of the United States. I know someone there. You might too.
If you don't like Congress or whatever, say it. But don't talk like a terrorist just because you think it makes you sound clever or tough or whatever.
Gilbert Martin | October 12, 2007, 11:52pm | #
"Rush was acually nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize himself by an organization who said he promotes liberty."Yeah - and Rush is infinitely more qualified than Al Gore to get the prize.
Eric Dondero | October 13, 2007, 12:02am | #
Do you want to know how to win a Nobel Peace Prize? Its really simple, all you have to do is hate America and hate our Troops. If the Nobel Peace Prize was legitimate, they'd give George W. Bush a prize for his work in fighting the biggest threat to peace today, Islamo-Fascism.Well, DONDEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, you hate everything that America stands for. So where's your prize?
future | October 13, 2007, 1:03am | #
"and to the Dalai Lama, who...actually, I'm not sure what the Dalai Lama does, but evidently it impresses a lot of peoplenice job, jesse walker
The Dalai Lama is coasting off the glory for all the cool shit he did in his previous life.
Cris | October 13, 2007, 7:55am | #
Well said, Jesse.BTW, the Dalai Lama lectures to simple minds and makes his coin selling 'Free Tibet' bumper stickers from his chalet in Switzerland.
And any place else that isn't Tibet.
J | October 13, 2007, 9:03am | #
"Linus Pauling, who capped off an impressive scientific career with a crusade against above-ground nuclear testing"What's that have to do with peace? Did it get him into a foursome with the Lama or something?
VM | October 13, 2007, 9:30am | #
ProGLib - was the Lama a good tipper?Doktor T: in a past life, he invented the flying car - a "Tucker of the Renaissance", but all of the sedan chair companies conspired to put him out of business.
The Flying Car.
That's why.
joseph claeys | October 13, 2007, 11:30am | #
You might want to fact check your data on the oscar. Al Gore won an Emmy. An Oscar was awarded for the movie An Inconvenient Truth but not to Al Gore - it was awarded to the director Davis Guggenheim.. Al did join Davis on stage (along with some of the film crew) to accept the Oscar so perhaps that's where this notion comes from...~joe
Pat | October 13, 2007, 12:58pm | #
George Bush wants to have the George Bush think tank when he retires from being president. If that isn't an oxymoron I don't know what is.Your right-winged hatred of Al Gore and all democrats seems so over the top I have to question the motive for the existance of the website. Are you funded by this administration? Do you receive federal money? Are my tax dollars paying for this right-wing BS propaganda?
Minion of URKOBOLD | October 13, 2007, 1:21pm | #
THE ONLY TIME "OVER THE TOP" SHOULD BE ALLOWED IN POLITE CONVERSATION IS IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION, "WHAT WAS THE ABSOLUTE BESTEST, GREATEST, MEGA-MONDA-AWESOMEST SLY STALLONE MOVIE EVAR?"OTHERWISE, YOUR SILLY TAUNTS MAKE YOU SEEM LIKE A GOATEED SPOCK VERSION OF A LGF TWADDLENOCK
Dondero, you're back from Mexico? Did you hear the phrase "squeal like a piggy" in Spanish while you were down there?
emerson | October 13, 2007, 1:56pm | #
Dondero,I totally agree. Those who hate America should be lined up and shot. Long live freedom!
Jon H | October 13, 2007, 2:55pm | #
" An Oscar was awarded for the movie An Inconvenient Truth but not to Al Gore - it was awarded to the director Davis Guggenheim.. Al did join Davis on stage (along with some of the film crew) to accept the Oscar so perhaps that's where this notion comes from..."Oh please. The film has no content or existence apart from being a film presentation of Gore's slide show. The two are inseparable.
Jon H | October 13, 2007, 2:55pm | #
Rush should get a Nobel for promoting tolerance.Oh, wait, would opiate tolerance count?
Jon H | October 13, 2007, 3:00pm | #
""the United States would continue to get along just fine if Washington, D.C. were burned to the ground""A more economical alternative would be to just burn down the AEI building.
I think the Dalai Lama got his prize for promoting mellowness and for not setting up a Tibetan terrorist base in Dharamsala.
Happy Jack | October 13, 2007, 3:02pm | #
Do you want to know how to win a Nobel Peace Prize?Drive that old Chrysler down to Mexico?
Les | October 13, 2007, 5:14pm | #
That "brutal dictatorship" in Chile which Kissinger assisted prevented a civil war, promised to return the country to civil rule on a date certain, which it did, and laid the foundation for the most prosperous country in South America today. Some brutality!Yeah, I'd say rounding up and torturing and murdering thousands of dissidents is pretty brutal. But, hey, prosperity!
Les | October 13, 2007, 5:21pm | #
Your right-winged hatred of Al Gore and all democrats seems so over the top I have to question the motive for the existance of the website.Despite the reflexive, partisan numbskulls who frequent this board, the Reason writers are generally equal-opportunity haters, heaping scorn on Republicans and Democrats alike. Incompetence, dishonesty, and hypocrisy are worthy of hatred no matter the political party.
Les | October 13, 2007, 5:23pm | #
Yeah - and Rush is infinitely more qualified than Al Gore to get the prize.If there was a Nobel prize for partisan hyperbole, you'd be in the running!
Roscoe W | October 13, 2007, 8:18pm | #
Hope the media gives credit where due:Gore "shared" the Nobel win with a United Nations committee? So in effect Gore was second again.
Hugh Akston | October 13, 2007, 9:23pm | #
You'll see a similar trend in the non-institutional figures who win the Peace Prize. Occasionally it goes to a Carl von Ossietzky, a Martin Luther King...Minor point— MLK was not exactly non-institutional. The civil rights movement was already quite sophisticated before he became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, one of many religious and non-religious grassroots civil rights groups operating in the south throughout the 50s and 60s. Though he did much good as an eloquent figurehead, he was hardly alone in his struggle.
Otherwise, the article is quite pointed. The Nobel is like the Oscars, they rarely get it right.
Jesse Walker | October 13, 2007, 9:51pm | #
Oh please. The film has no content or existence apart from being a film presentation of Gore's slide show. The two are inseparable.Actually, the commenter has a point. Technically, Gore himself didn't win the Oscar. If I'd remembered that he had won an Emmy I would have used that in the triple crown joke instead.
Minor point— MLK was not exactly non-institutional. The civil rights movement was already quite sophisticated before he became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, one of many religious and non-religious grassroots civil rights groups operating in the south throughout the 50s and 60s. Though he did much good as an eloquent figurehead, he was hardly alone in his struggle.
I didn't meant to suggest that he was. Lech Walesa wasn't alone either. I just meant that they weren't working for a UN-style international organization.
That "brutal dictatorship" in Chile which Kissinger assisted prevented a civil war, promised to return the country to civil rule on a date certain, which it did, and laid the foundation for the most prosperous country in South America today. Some brutality!
What Les said. A regime that tortures and murders its political opponents -- or anyone, for that matter -- counts as brutal in my book. Also, Pinochet didn't exactly leave office voluntarily; a people-power movement forced him out. Many people on the right have this notion that he was a reluctant dictator who happily stepped aside once his work was done, but that simply isn't true.
Great article! The Nobel offices should be wallpapered with this.
Bob | October 15, 2007, 12:50am | #
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/13/AR2007101301071.htmlThis link has absolutely nothing to do, at all, with this story, but I am posting it anyway. Why? Because for weeks, this website posted the same old tired bullshit about how people that claimed Iraq was improving were liars peddling vile propaganda. However, given the nature of this site, I expect to see no blog entries at all making corrections. Therefore I will be posting this link in every blog entries comments section. Time to eat crow, assholes.
anon | October 15, 2007, 8:56am | #
Could a moderator remove the spam please?ajay | October 15, 2007, 10:56am | #
In all fairness to the committee, could it be, like the Oscars, there isn't always in every single year a person or organization who clearly deserves the prize?It doesn't have to be awarded every year. There were no winners in 1972, 1967, 1966, 1956, 1955, and several other years I can't be bothered to type.
It would have been smart of JW to read the criteria for the Peace Prize: "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".
"Peace congresses" get a special mention, which justifies people like Woodrow Wilson - after all, the League was the biggest peace congress in history.
Ironically, under the "reduction of standing armies" clause, the best candidates from the 1990s are Deng Xiaoping and Dick Cheney.
kevrob | October 15, 2007, 12:39pm | #
Re: the war of 1812:The British Orders in Council, which were such an irritant to American merchant shipping, were actually repealed 2 days before the U.S. declared war. Those being the days of sail, news of the change in British policy didn't reach our side of the pond for weeks. Had a faster means of communication been available, the war might have been avoided entirely. Then again, it might not have been, as the desire to expand westward and into Canada was high on the War Hawks to-do list, and other grievances could have provided casus belli - disputes over boundaries of the Northwest Territory, accusations that the UK was "stirring up the natives", etc.
The same communications lag resulted in the battle of New Orleans being fought after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.
Kevin
ajay | October 15, 2007, 1:18pm | #
kevrob: the war of 1812 was pointless for this reason - the supposed casus belli (1) was the impressment of British sailors from American ships. The reason for this impressment is that Britain was fighting Napoleon, and needed to keep the Royal Navy manned. By 1815, the war against Napoleon was over (2) and the Navy was downsized by 90% - so no more need for impressment.(1) As noted above, the real casus belli was the Canadians' continued refusal to become American. The American army thus invaded, with the belief that they would be welcomed as liberators. In fact they were welcomed as lunch.
(2) Which meant that the finest army in Europe, and the finest general in the world, suddenly had no other calls on their time and were free to head over to the US, had the war continued.
dbust1 | October 15, 2007, 4:00pm | #
Great article, except for the comment:"One year it went to the UN's peacekeeping forces, which advance the cause of peace by shooting people."
I hate to split hairs, but typically if UN Peacekeepers shoot anyone it's an accident of the "accidental discharge" type. What they actually do is promote peace by:
1) being shot at
2) subsequently being scared of being shot at
and
3) all while wearing stupid blue helmets inside of bright white vehicles.
I think there may have been a couple atrocities committed at the hands of UN Peacekeepers. But I’d be pretty pissed too if I had to wear a stupid blue helmet (or beret).
Jesse Walker | October 15, 2007, 4:43pm | #
It would have been smart of JW to read the criteria for the Peace PrizeI did.
WW1 was not the most the pointless major war in American history. (and I am not talking about the current unpleasantness.) Rather, that distinction must go to the War of 1812.
I stand by my belief that WWI was more pointless, but I will grant that the Battle of New Orleans was quite possibly the most pointless battle in U.S. history.
Mike Reason | October 16, 2007, 1:34am | #
You people cast scorn on Alfred Nobel but that is because you don't understand his dream. A dream that anyone who became famous was instantly enrolled in a lottery to win a medal and one million dollars. You see, the best way to achieve peace is for a bunch of rich, famous people to come together and pat themselves on the back for advancing peace.Bob Armstrong | October 16, 2007, 7:49am | #
Best comments I've seen are "First Nobel for a PowerPoint presentation" , and "Nobel for fear" .The second indeed is Gore's accomplishment - using arrogant pseudoscience exaggerated to the point of willful dishonesty to instill fear in the population to modernize their shackles .
I still can't get past the 0th law of thermodynamics which says you can't make heat go up hill and stay there .
Anurag Kumar Agarwal | October 17, 2007, 5:53am | #
I could kiss the author of this article for the brilliant satire. I would like to add that there is a nexus between NGOs and people in power there is an understanding between them and they nominate each other while the deserving person rarely wins it like Mahatma Gandhi I am not advocating his name only because I am an Indian but I am sure you all will agree that he was one of those who was free from any blemish. Mother Teresa got it though that was good! Baba Amte should get it also if only for setting and example for others to follow!Anurag Kumar Agarwal | October 17, 2007, 5:57am | #
But for some very greedy and ambitious US leaders who entered world war quite pointlessly US would have been the champion of human rights and liberty but Alas! Greed and ego. Americans are not all that way for sure but these leaders spoil the image of Americans worldwide. Lately Bush getting so many innocent young Americans killed in Iraq.What was the neccsity for meddling in Iraq?