Obama Wins a Nobel Peace Prize

Yeah, I'm a bit late on this one, but I'm busy enough these days that even taking time to do this is taking up time I should be working on some vague architectural assignment.

So Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I have to admit that it seems a tad premature. He did receive the nomination a mere 12 days after assuming office. Anyways, it seems to have made Fidel happy (as if that alone weren't reason enough... ha), and the right is pissed. Best comment (there's some other gems in there too) - Rush Limbaugh: "Something has happened here that we all agree with the Taliban and Iran about and that is he doesn't deserve the award

." Priceless.

This is Jesse Larner at the Huffington Post speaking of his confusion of Obama's win: "Maybe the more absurd and bizarre it is, the more of a kick in the pants it is to the Bush presidency, of late, unlamented memory. This is how much we hate you, George; anyone who comes after you will win the Nobel prize, just for not being you."

But then Foreign Policy (a great magazine by the way) spoiled the whole thing and listed what Obama had done in his first 12 days in office to deserve a Nobel.

• January 21: Obama met with the ambassador to Iraq, commander in Iraq, and regional commander to receive a complete briefing on the war.
• January 22: Obama ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
• January 22: Obama signed an executive order explicitly prohibiting the use of torture and ordering all U.S. forces to obey the Army Field Manual. He also ordered a review of the case of Ali Saleh al-Marri, a detainee held on a Naval brig in South Carolina.
• January 22: Obama met with numerous retired generals.
• January 23: Obama rescinded the Mexico City policy, which had prevented nongovernmental organizations from receiving government funding if they supplied family planning assistance or abortions abroad.
• January 23: Obama calls Prime Minister Harper of Canada, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, and Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations.
• January 26: Obama announced his appointing of Todd Stern to the new position of special envoy for climate change -- recognizing the environment as a pressing foreign-policy concern.
• January 27: More phone calls. This time Obama speaks with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, and Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan.

But then Foreign Policy (a great magazine by the way) spoiled the whole thing and listed what Obama had done in his first 12 days in office to deserve a Nobel.

• January 21: Obama met with the ambassador to Iraq, commander in Iraq, and regional commander to receive a complete briefing on the war.
• January 22: Obama ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
• January 22: Obama signed an executive order explicitly prohibiting the use of torture and ordering all U.S. forces to obey the Army Field Manual. He also ordered a review of the case of Ali Saleh al-Marri, a detainee held on a Naval brig in South Carolina.
• January 22: Obama met with numerous retired generals.
• January 23: Obama rescinded the Mexico City policy, which had prevented nongovernmental organizations from receiving government funding if they supplied family planning assistance or abortions abroad.
• January 23: Obama calls Prime Minister Harper of Canada, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, and Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations.
• January 26: Obama announced his appointing of Todd Stern to the new position of special envoy for climate change -- recognizing the environment as a pressing foreign-policy concern.
• January 27: More phone calls. This time Obama speaks with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, and Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan.