Nobel Peace Prize Also-Rans

MAHATMA GANDHI

AFP/Getty Images

Achievements: Mohandas K. Gandhi was the spiritual and political leader of the Indian independence movement and an advocate of nonviolent resistance as a means to effect social change. Gandhi assumed a leading role in the Indian National Congress in 1921 and transformed the party into a mass movement dedicated to ending social and economic discrimination against Indians and achieving India's complete independence. He was also a vocal advocate for the emancipation of the Hindu "untouchable" class, as well as unity between the Hindu and Muslim communities. Following India's declaration of independence, he opposed the partition of India and Pakistan. Gandhi was shot and killed by a radical Hindu nationalist on Jan. 30, 1948.

Close calls: History's most famous pacifist is probably the peace prize's most famous omission, and the Nobel Foundation has even a Web page explaining its side of the story. Gandhi made the Nobel short list three times: in 1937, 1947, and then posthumously in 1948. In 1937, the committee's advisor criticized Gandhi's dual role as a peace activist and political leader of an independence movement, writing that he "is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly, an ordinary politician."

As India and Pakistan achieved independence in 1947, Gandhi's crowning triumph was tempered by the violence and dislocation that resulted. With tensions growing in the summer of 1947, the Nobel committee hesitated to award the peace prize to someone so closely identified with one of the combatants. The committee also seems to have been affected by regional and racial biases; most of the prior awards had been given to white European men.

Although the committee considered awarding Gandhi the prize in 1948, following his assassination, Alfred Nobel's will clearly required that the award be given to a living person. However, the decision to not dispense any award that year because "there was no suitable living candidate" appears to be an implicit admission that the committee missed its opportunity to recognize Gandhi's accomplishments.

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AVRAM

2:44 PM ET

October 8, 2009

dehumanizing palestinians and their leaders

Western writers are very good at dehumanizing leaders of arabic and asian world. I have seen so many authors criticizing nobel given to Arafat while never thinking for a minute that it was shared by people palestinians consider as absolute butchers: Shamir and Peres. The outrage is demonizing this guy while there are better targets in Kissinger, Shamir, Peres etc. Why pick on Arafat? He was a fighting against occupation, perhaps less peacefully than Gandhi. But why not criticize the nobel to brutal occupiers in Shamir and Peres? They killed more palestinians and confiscated more palestinian land and caused more human suffering than anything Arafat did. Try to fight the occupation rather than demonizing freedomfighters!!!!

FREETRADER

11:50 AM ET

October 9, 2009

Yassar the coward...

Actually, the Yassar Arafat Nobel was probably the one that proved once and for all that the Peace Nobel has no more credibility than the Oscars. As if it needs to be said, that baby killing scumbag, who purposely targeted women and children and then, when he had a chance to actually make peace, was too cowardly (afraid of his own people and the monster that he and his terrorist tactics has created) to actually accept the best deal the Palestinians were ever likely to get (as offered by Ehud Barak) and become the Michael Collins of the Middle East. He fully deserved a Noble for cowardice, stupidity, and brutality.

UZBEKPOLICY

4:25 PM ET

Maybe Gandhi was about it?

I like to think about it this way -- Gandhi was such a peace-loving and noble person that he was actually above the Nobel prize. So, Nobel committee's recognition was not even necessary to prove how much this guy positively contributed to the humanity.

On the other hand, Liu Xiaobo certainly needs a Nobel prize for his work. After all, this guy is expressing his dissent voice where even little discourse from the official ideology is harshly punished. Liu Xiaobo is trying to build democracy in the world's largest Communist state. Can you imagine someone like that in the former Soviet Union?

DEMONIZEDCHINA

9:21 PM ET

Liu is a joke, just like Obama

sure, Liu deserves Nobel Peace Price because it is such a joke!!

ROMANOV

10:40 AM ET

October 11, 2009

that's to put it as bluntly as possible: the prize would have reduced the legend to a mere winner of the prize!!! If I ever dream of winning anything it would be the Gandhi prize! maybe someone with the right powers should lobby for this!!

JEFFBOSTE

9:13 AM ET

Nobel Peace Prize

Does President Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize award?

http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=6264
.

GOEDEL

8:10 PM ET

Does Pres. Obama deserve the Nobel PP award?

Of course not! Even BO said so! In this one case, I take our President at his word, which otherwise has not been good.

9:59 PM ET

The economics of the 2009 PP award

The PP award to BO can be understood by visiting the canned meat aisle of your supermarket. A nice can of small Norwegian sardines, 16 snugly packed in sild or olive oil, is about $3.00, these days. That is not because the smaller fish are rarer; the all start small. It is because the dollar is all but rare.

The Norwegian PP Committee, seeking to get rid of 1,000,000 dollars in a way that would not be considered dumping dollars and, thereby, depressing the dollar even further, decided to return them to the source of the dollar-proliferation, the White House: Barack Obama.

That's it! Nothing sinister, like having given the PP to Henry Kissinger! The Committee thought that the Narcissist-in-Chief would appreciate the gesture.

NERVOUSSPEAKING

1:22 AM ET

October 10, 2009

I believe

That Obama has not proven that much yet so he should not get this award..

Nervous Speaking

WEPUMP

4:16 AM ET

Obama wins Nobel Peace prize

I belive its a good thing for lots of differnt reasons 1/ It shows who has same political agendas when it comes time to speak badly about this award

Hamas Lech welensa Chaveas Hezbolla Pakistans parliment the taliban and of course the repubilican party of the united staes all have come out with how wrong this is. Amazing they all agree that hate is the way forward imagine that Only one not to speak out yet is Saha Palin or may be it will be in one of her face book press releases.

Iran 95% of Muslum counties and Isreal even some that were in running for this award all have said good things

And yes There is a hope that was not there 2 years ago the world can get better the palistinains have stoped thier infatada for a bit to give peace a chance lets hope Isreal realizes this and something gets done this time before we move to third infatada

The Iraqis who GB has done such great things for want peace and justice one day for these last 7 years of blood they shed under GBs and the republican war

The Taliban seem to be making noise this is a good thing with out noisde we dont know who to talk to so at least hearing them and seeing someone in front allows some sort of diolog to occur and give a human face to it as a movment and yes it is a movment cause the last 7 years no one knew who to talk to and we bombed them shot them and they didnt go away so they must have some public support over there we dont see or hear about in the west so ys lets do what ever it takes to get diolog even if it means escalating the amount of soldier in the field and then get some sort of talks going to get Osama and his team out of there

Pakistan well what can one say they have never had one day of peace and know nothing but war from all sides so maybe one day they will wake up

Chavez well he likes to make noise thinking he is the one and only fighting the bad yankees but he knows its only noise

Lech welansa did good things but his own people got sick of his noise and put him on the sidelines fast Polish people dont like to dwell long on the past they like bread and wine on thier tables not song and dance for the past

The rebublican party what can one say when a small group who now seems to have control live under the old rule KILL THEM ALL AND LET GOD SORT THEM OUT one day the real people get control of the party again and they will make a come back hopfully as a real human party not a bunch of texas red necks running it

I am glad to see a buch of lefties in Norway give this to him even if people dont think he has earned it and this includes Obama that thinks this way cause it makes people think WHERE WE HAVE BEEN WERE ARE WE NOW AND WHERE DO WE WANT TO GET TO as a human race

Enjoy

MARK ASREAD

8:37 AM ET

Nobel Nonsense

"The committee has sought to achieve a geographical balance in recent years"

Can someone explain how awarding the Peace Prize to three big-name Americans from the Democratic Party in the past seven years constitutes "geographic balance?"

It couldn't be that the Nobel Peace Prize committee wants to influence domestic American politics, could it? Nah...never!

PREM NIZAR HAMEED

1:41 AM ET

Optimism is the essence in him/
Broadminded views of democracy/
And true spirit of humanitarian ethics/
Merge in his unquestionable diplomacy/
A wind of change emanates from him/

Let us hope that an American President holding the Nobel Peace Prize will not indulge in any war or atrocities at least for the next three years. I think the Nobel committee might have taken a thought provoking decision by looking forward to a peaceful world in the offing. Now the Prez will think twice, unlike his predecessor, before he orders his military forces to show a war mongering reality show on someone’s land. And let us also hope that he will control his spy agencies from fingering the external affairs.

On the other hand, his intentions are good. And if the past offers some inspirations to move forward or some lessons to learn, we should take them with us for the present and for the future.. Otherwise leave them behind forever. Obama might have gone through this. And he seems to be in the White House to remove some black spots from the minds of people at home and abroad. Optimism is the essence of his speech. Abraham Lincoln once told he had destroyed his enemies by making them friends. And his bold step helped eradicate slavery. Obama seems to follow him. Of course any outcome is not expected overnight. In politics, political opportunism is dangerous. Even if he and his like minded are sincerely on the move towards peace and tranquility, the hardliners from every part of the world await chances of their wrong steps .Religious interferences some times deviate the process of a good proposal or they come as stumbling blocks. People who are committed to the peace initiatives must be brave to take up all such challenges, if they really want to translate their vision. All the peace loving citizens of the world hope that the long standing conflicts may come one by one in the funeral queue with an epitaph.

10:50 AM ET

Peace is only a break from War!

Surely it doesn't deserve a prize! To reward who and for what? what meaning does it have to award someone the peace prize for stopping the World War II, if the stoppage led to World War III, yet more bloodier and longer lasting war! one that's not yet been declared began decades ago!
no offence, it' all big BS,

SARAHR899

3:30 AM ET

October 12, 2009

Hmm

That's truly amazing to think that Gandhi didn't get awarded one, and yet so many less deserving people have...

Sarah

KOOLAU

3:56 AM ET

Peace or Freedom Prize?

For many of the winners of the Prize, they were awarded for increasing or working to increase freedom.

Is this a definition of peace? I thought peace was an end to fighting, working to reduce war and violence.

Often, to increase freedom requires a violent struggle. Alfred Nobel's aim was to increase peace and said nothing about improving freedom.

Nobel Peace Prize Also-Rans

From Henry Kissinger to Yasir Arafat, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has made some controversial picks over the years. Here are seven people who that never won the prize, but should have.

BY DAVID KENNER | OCTOBER 7, 2009

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