"George,
I wanted to know what your take is on the Nobel Peace Prize going to Mr. Obama. This does not make any sense... is this a move by TPTB to boost his popularity?
This announcement just look very odd after the setbacks and scrutiny his Administration. What has he actually done other than talk? Do you and Clif think that this could be part of the precipitating event to distract people from the MoM shift horizon on Oct. 25?
Thank you for your time. I hope I may get to see a response on US."
Oh yeah! After spilling half a cup of coffee on myself when I read the headline, I got to thinking "Well, maybe the Nobel folks see something I don't...after all "I'm just a doof in the East Texas outback who consults businesses on stay-alive strategies while the world is trying to come crashing down into the Second Depression."
The Nobel Prizes - and especially the 'peace' prize - have always confounded me anyway since they are all based on profits left over from the guy (Alfred Nobel) who invented dynamite and gelignite. So pardon the political incorrectness of this, but as I see it, naming something a 'peace prize' and funding it with dynamite profits is - how do you say this? - a kind of blood money deal by my standards...
So forget that part - that's always been the case, no change there. No, instead I needed to look further to build a list of what Obama has actually done since he got into office.
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Has he ended the Iraq occupation? Nope.
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Has he ended the Afghanistan war? Uh, well....
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Criticized Israel's invasion of Gaza and supported the commission report which identified excess force/war crimes? Nope.
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How about defused the Iranian situation and brought their nuclear ambitions to heel? Nope. In fact, Iran's back drum beating this morning saying they will 'blow up the heart of Israel if attacked" this morning. So no, peace is nowhere to be seen in that part of the world.
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Has Obama turned America into the Land of Milk and Honey? Nope - hell, it's only a week or two since the acoustic weapons were turned on peaceful demonstrators at the G-20 in Pittsburgh...not exactly Man of Peace kinda stuff...
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Has work stopped on detention camps and the $500-million KBR deal on that front? Not that I've heard.
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Finished the fence? Hahaha! Pah-leze.....
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How about full, open, responsive hearings on Health Care? Nope - that's being run up the financial track to give it wings.
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A decisive turnaround in the declining US employment picture? Hang in there...
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Full funding for FDIC which is nearly broke? Don't rush things...
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Declaration of flu shot rights? Not so's you'd notice, no....
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Peace and harmony in the financial world? You put something in that coffee besides sugar?
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Well, how about other great initiatives on behalf of peace, then? Only one really weak one that I can figure..
In fact, the Nobel Committee itself seems to be shy on specifics. The best one that I could come up with was Obama's decision not to put the missile shield project into Poland and Czechoslovakia. To be sure, that may have improved relations with Russia a bit, but then again, that part of the shield was to protect Europe more than the US and we're about flat broke anyway (or we will be after the next big bail failure) so the US is no longer in the position of being the world's biggest, free-spending defense benefactor .
When I read how Obama has created "a new climate in international politics" I ask myself "Is that what they call it when he goes along with the G-20 plans to unseat the Dollar as the world reserve currency?" Or "Has North Korea decided to stop building bomb parts and exporting missiles when I wasn't looking, or is Washington's deaf, dumb, and blind on the Arctic Sea caper reaping some kind of payoff?"
Not to get hung up on this one non sequitor of the day...we have plenty of others to deal with, but this one, well it's two sizes bigger than being a dandy. It's like a Bush Whopper II. Where's my flight suit?
Even more hilarious - absurd - paradoxical - stupid: This nonsensical award decision comes on the very day that the USA becomes the first country to bomb the moon. Peace my....
