The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Nobel Peace Surprise' Edition...
WASHINGTON/OSLO (Reuters) - Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision that honored the first-year U.S. president more for promise than achievement and drew praise... (U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "His commitment to work through the United Nations gives the world's people fresh hope and fresh prospects."... Former President Jimmy Carter says (it) is a "bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment.")
... and skepticism around the world...
War and Peace Prizes | CommonDreams.org
Comment: absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize - Times Online
Do you think awarding Obama the Peace Prize was appropriate?
Bebo writes...
a sitting president of the united states wins the Nobel piece (sic) prize & some americans are unhappy & want to debate the issue. I think I'll stick to more important subjects like why the chicken crossed the road.
(to get a pizza, maybe?)
and then adds later...
in may of this year, Obama gave a commencement speech at ASU. he wasn't given an honorary degree because" there has been no significant contributions to society over his career."(ASU) fast forward to October of this year, Obama wins Nobel peace prize. the moral of this story; when the going gets weird, the weird go to work for ASU.
(Any ASU alumni out there care to respond?)
Ted said...
Don't know wether awarding the Nobel to the Prez was appropriate but it certainly was entertaining to see people like Limbaugh, Hannity and their ilk go red in the face and clutch at their chests.. Thank you Prize Committee! "To admit ignorance is the first step in the search for wisdom".
(Yes indeed, and the 'Progressive' doubters were civilized in their criticism, fer the most part... Good show, that...)
Adam in NoHo states and ponders...
The Prize was awarded for the simple fact that he is not George Bush. Thumbing your nose at the Cheney/Bush axis is appropriate under any condition.
Is Obama likely to do something now or in the future to ultimately justify winning? Not that we are seeing so far...
jb gibed...
This award was for the Liberal war on terrorists, compared to the Bush's incompetence for starting another Viet Nam.
DanD ever the cynic wrote...
So, in this new propaganda age of Orwellian redefinition, Prez. Barry Obama is undoubtedly the most qualified (this year at least) warmonger to be burdened with Nobel's War-is-Peace Prize!
Is he qualified? Well, he's at least as qualified as H. Kissinger, or maybe even Al "Since I can't tell you why my global warming is acting so much like global cooling ... I'll instead just rebrand my wealth-depletion tax scam as a 'climate-change (Pat pend: AG)' bamboozlement" Gore!
Remember, the man for whom the Nobel Prize is named after did in fact obscenely expand,,to a tremendous degree, war's "kill-factor" by inventing the over-oxidizing effects of dynamite.
This would kinda' be like Jeffery Dalmer inventing the refrigerator, and then using some of the profits thereof in order to reward other people's ingenuity. Would everybody then be as quick to try qualifying for a Dalmer Peace Prize?
Ultimately, heroes are whoever you want them to be.
(Dan, I gotta hand it to ya... Ya gotta way with words, an' that's a fact!)
mj opines...
A qualified "Yes", not for what he's done since becoming president (although I think his rescinding of the missile shield mishegas was very important to the committee), but rather what he did to become president by defeating what would surely have been a continuation of Bush the Dumber's disastrous policies that could have morphed into a jingoistic cult of ignorance and superstitious magical thinking if Ms. Palin had succeeded to the top spot.
PS: Re Afghanistan (a question when I was out of town) I think Shrub screwed the pooch on that so badly that nothing any one can ever do will make it possible for that dog to sit so it might be best to articulate a plan to the Afghans that we will be on our way sooner rather than later and set up guidelines for what we'd like to see them doing for themselves that would accelerate our departure. Those guidelines should include things that are achievable (local police forces maintaining civil order of their own standard) and maintainable (power in the hands of locally respected individuals in small jurisdictions). We can't set the standards or details.
Charlie weighed in with...
I share the sympathies of those who decry the award based on Obama's failure (so far) to take steps to reign in the MIC, but I also agree that his not being Bush/Cheney is (or should be) a huge step, and as one or another commentator has pointed out, the prize was awarded largely for its aspirational value. One could search the list of such laureates and find many that inspire laughter at best (I probably don't have to point out Kissinger here), but there have also been many quite worthy recipients, and I hope Obama winds up among the latter when all is said and done. It can be an interesting exercise to look at the prizes in all categories and turn up both dubious recipients and glaring omissions. Certainly Gandhi and Chomsky should have won the peace prize, though NC could still get it, I guess. Even if one looks at the hardest of the hard sciences, physics, one finds that Einstein was awarded his prize for his theory of the photoelectric effect -- instead of relativity -- because the Nobel Committee still had cold feet about the latter as late as 1922 (anyone here who thinks they find paradoxes in relativity doesn't understand it at all, by the way). Einstein could have been awarded that prize for any number of things anyhow, and the photo effect was among them. Another curious case here is the award of the 1978 physics prize to Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson for their 1964 discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation while trying to discover the source of noise in a communications receiver. That was indeed a monumental discovery, and Penzias and Wilson are both brilliant, but they didn't know what they had discovered until they asked around. One could go on and on here.
SallyP(al) last and certainly not least said...
I respond, "Appropriate" as opposed to what? (Oh, how 'bout 'inappropriate' or even 'undeserved'?) Who am I to tell the members of the Nobel decisioning panel whom or whom-not to award their prize??
(LOL! Who are ya trying to kid, Pally? If'n it was someone you thought didn't rate you'd be raisin' all manner of commotion, 'fess up now!)
Of course I was thrilled to learn about President Obama winning the prestigious prize!
(Why am I not surprised)
I am certain that the Nobel Committee saw the potential President Obama has in factoring nuclear perforation in the world as a major consideration in this award.
(That's pro-lif-er-a-tion, but I suppose you could use perforation as nukes make pretty big holes, haha!)
And, yes, I do think it was a major message to the previous cretin who stole the office of the President of the US and a statement to the world that unjust WAR and invasion/occupancy of any country is unacceptable!
(Ah, there's this Afghan thing going on right now, remember?)
The bonus here? It sure pissed off the Repugs - and that too is a good thing...
(I suppose so)
gene wrote:
I'm delighted by it if only for all the angry wingnut reactions.
All the hue and cry about how he should reject it but won't because of his arrogance. This coming from lots of winger primadonna egos who need entourages to haul their egos just makes it more funny and delicious.
Well, Poll-fans, my take is that those who are working to end the Sudan Genocide (and have been for a LONG time) were more deserving because they have actually been doing something. Sure, it was a nice gesture to give it to The Man, but.... and I'll leave it there...
Thanks to all... Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
New Question
The 'Ham-demic' Edition
USDA Confirms H1N1 in Minnesota Pig - CBS News
Will you get an H1N1 (swine) flu inoculation, if it's made available to you?
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Banks Are Not Alright (nytimes.com)
While bank trading operations are highly profitable again, the part of banking that really matters lending, which fuels investment and job creation is not.
Andrew Tobias: Review of "CAPITALISM" (andrewtobias.com)
I finally saw Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story," and you should too. There is much in it that's simplistic or manipulative, but it is at the very least three things: rivetingly interesting, moving, and thought-provoking.* And as you watch you can do the same two things I did: try to find the flaws in his argument; try to figure out how things should be (unless you think they're perfect now).
Froma Harrop: Weary of Culinary Spectacle, Spending and Sport (creators.com)
I must be the only "foodie" who didn't love "Julie & Julia," the movie about Julia Child and the office worker she inspired, Julie Powell. Am I allowed?
Marina Hyde: Celebrity in the decade of Big Brother (guardian.co.uk)
'Sex tapes became showreels and anyone with a digital camera could become a paparazzo.'
Paul Constant: Old Bull (thestranger.com)
Jay-Z Will Stay at the Top for as Long as He Fucking Wants To
George Varga: Pearl Jam Rocks and Reminisces (creators.com)
Pearl Jam delivered so many rousing anthems at its marathon, 32-song concert last Friday night at San Diego State University's Viejas Arena that it almost seemed anti-climactic when the show concluded with guitarist Mike McCready's Jimi Hendrix-inspired solo version of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Rosanna Greenstreet: "Q&A: Dizzee Rascal" (guardian.co.uk)
'The music industry is full of poseurs and dickheads and people who don't know what they are talking about.'
Dawn C. Chmielewski: He knows all about being cool (latimes.com)
Screenwriter Dan Berendsen has written some of Disney Channel's most popular movies, including "The Cheetah Girls: One World," "Twitches" and "Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie."
Charlie Higson: the truth about boys, girls, zombies, vampires and sex (guardian.co.uk)
Why the undead are perfect for illustrating the sexual divide.
Rebecca Ascher-Walsh: Natalie Portman is growing through her roles (latimes.com)
The 28-year-old actress is choosing parts with an eye on how they'll affect her life. 'I want to be a woman on screen,' she says.
Mikhaela Reid: Cartoon (Roman Polanski)
Nicole Hollander: Sylvia
Jerry Ropelato: Internet Pornography Statistics
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Cloudy and cool.
Leno Guest Friday
Michelle Obama
First lady Michelle Obama is going to be serving up answers on "The Jay Leno Show."
NBC said Monday that Mrs. Obama is set to respond to 10 "rapid-fire questions" in a comedy bit with Leno. She'll participate via satellite from Washington.
The first lady is to appear Friday on "The Jay Leno Show." Colin Firth is the scheduled guest.
Michelle Obama
YouTubes Concert Sunday
U2
U2 fans can tune into the band's concert on Sunday in Pasadena, Calif., free through YouTube at about 11:30 ET.
Fans in Canada and more than a dozen other countries will be able to watch the band's show at the Rose Bowl live, in what's being billed as the first full-length global concert on YouTube.
YouTube expects millions of users will flood the website for the concert but predicts it will be able to handle the traffic.
The band says it had previously planned to film the concert before teaming up with YouTube and the show will also be available for replay after Sunday.
U2
Judge Refuses To Block Film
Chris Rock
A federal judge has refused to halt the release of the Chris Rock film "Good Hair."
Rock and the film's producers were sued in Los Angeles by documentary filmmaker Regina Kimbell, who claimed the comedian stole several ideas for his film from her work.
Kimbell produced the documentary "My Nappy Roots" earlier this decade and says she screened her film for Rock in 2007. U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer watched both films and says she didn't see substantial similarities.
Chris Rock
'Handbook Of Bad Morals'
Jose Saramago
A row broke out in Portugal on Monday after a Nobel Prize-winning author denounced the Bible as a "handbook of bad morals".
Speaking at the launch of his new book "Cain", Jose Saramago, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, said society would probably be better off without the Bible.
"The Bible is a manual of bad morals (which) has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people," he was quoted as saying by the news agency Lusa.
Saramago attacked "a cruel, jealous and unbearable God (who) exists only in our heads" and said he did not think his book would cause problems for the Catholic Church "because Catholics do not read the Bible.
Jose Saramago
Tours & Museum
'The Third Man'
Sachertorte. Magnificent palaces. Splendid museums. When Phillip Kalantirsky had his fill of Vienna the Opulent, he stayed on for a taste of Vienna Noir - in a walking tour built around the cult film "The Third Man."
"I'm obsessed with the movie," the 37-year-old lawyer from New York said on a recent afternoon as he and his wife waited for the tour to start. "Most old films are very dated, you don't buy into them. 'The Third Man' is different."
Kalantirsky's fascination with the film - set and partly shot in postwar Vienna - is shared by many. Six decades after "The Third Man" premiered in London in September 1949, tourists from around the world pound the Austrian capital's pavements - and even slip into its sewers - to see where the much-acclaimed motion picture was set. Fans can choose from the walking tour or the underground tour, visit a museum devoted to the movie or even watch it in a theatre.
Starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, the film tells the story of Holly Martins, a naive and broke American writer who investigates what appears to be the mysterious death of his old friend, Harry Lime, in a Vienna replete with rubble and racketeers, divided into zones run by the Western allies and the Soviet Union. Before long, he discovers that Lime is not dead but rather wrapped up in the trafficking of stolen, diluted penicillin, a scheme that has crippled and killed children.
'The Third Man'
'The Tears of Eros'
Madrid
An exhibition which opens Tuesday in Madrid explores how eroticism has inspired works of art throughout centuries, from paintings and sculptures to, more recently, photographs and videos.
The roughly 120 items, including a painting by Pablo Picasso, a sculpture by Auguste Rodin and a photograph by Man Ray, depict erotic icons and myths such as the birth of Venus and the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.
The exhibition, called "The Tears of Eros", will be on view at the CaixaForum and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums in Madrid, in the city's famous "golden triangle" of art, until January 31.
The exhibit gets its name from an art book by the same name by French author Georges Bataille published in 1961 which explores the relationship between visual art, eroticism, violence and death.
Madrid
Brits Bitch-Slap Rupert News
Stephen Gately
Britain's press watchdog said Monday it had received a record 21,000 complaints about a newspaper column on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately after critics used Twitter to brand the article homophobic and insensitive.
Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir wrote in a column Friday that Gately's death was "not, by any yardstick, a natural one" and said he died in "sleazy" circumstances, She noted that Gately, who came out publicly as gay in 1999, had been to a bar and invited a young Bulgarian man back to his apartment the night before he died.
Moir concluded that "under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see."
Anger at the column swept social networking site Twitter soon after Moir's piece appeared on the paper's Web site. Actor Stephen Fry urged his 860,000 Twitter followers to contact the Press Complaints Commission. Other prominent Tweeters followed suit, and provided links to the commission's Web site.
Stephen Gately
Postpones Malaysia Gig
Beyonce
Foreign acts often draw protests by the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), whose youth wing forced Beyonce to cancel her 2007 concert in the mainly Muslim nation of 27 million people.
Malaysian entertainment company Marctensia said in a statement on its website that the Beyonce "I am..." concert, planned for October 25 as part of her world tour, would be postponed to a date yet to be announced.
"The postponement is solely (the) decision of the artiste and has nothing to do with other external reasons," the concert organizers said in the statement.
No further reason was given. Marctensia said a new date for the concert would be announced "shortly" and a statement from Beyonce's management would be released later this week.
Beyonce
Not Dead Yet
"Southland"
Keep up the faith, "Southland" fans.
John Wells, executive producer of the recently canceled NBC drama, called actors on the show late last week to tell them he is in talks with two networks about the cop series finding a new home.
Wells reportedly didn't identify the networks, but TNT, corporate sibling of show producer Warner Bros. TV, has been interested in acquiring the series and is considered the most likely contender to pick it up.
Even if a deal is to be made to go to another network, there are indications that "Southland," whose production was shut down by NBC this month, won't resume filming anytime soon. The potential buyer would run the seven episodes from the first season and the six produced episodes from the second as a 13-episode freshman cycle.
"Southland"
Top Hollywood Lobby iLeaving
Dan Glickman
The top lobbyist for Hollywood's movie industry will leave his job next year. Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, will step down next September when his contract expires, says association spokeswoman Angela Belden Martinez.
The job representing movie studios is one of Washington's most coveted lobbying posts, but mixes the glamour of hobnobbing with Hollywood celebrities with the nitty gritty of issues important to studios like taxes and protecting films from unauthorized distribution on the Internet. Glickman, 64, earned more than $1.2 million in 2007, the latest year for which tax documents are available.
Glickman took the post in 2004, succeeding the colorful Jack Valenti, who had the job since 1966. Glickman, a low-key former Agriculture Department secretary and Democratic congressman from Kansas, has been lower profile than Valenti, who has his own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and died in 2007.
A person familiar with the movie industry's work in Washington said possible successors include Bob Pisano, the association's chief operating officer; Richard Bates, a lobbyist for The Walt Disney Co.; and Matthew Gerson, lobbyist for the Universal Music Group. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the information, which had come from confidential conversations.
Dan Glickman
Save Your Aging Brain
Surf The Web
Surfing the Internet just might be a way to preserve your mental skills as you age.
Researchers found that older adults who started browsing the Web experienced improved brain function after only a few days.
"You can teach an old brain new technology tricks," said Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatry professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of iBrain. With people who had little Internet experience, "we found that after just a week of practice, there was a much greater extent of activity particularly in the areas of the brain that make decisions, the thinking brain -- which makes sense because, when you're searching online, you're making a lot of decisions," he said. "It's interactive."
Small is co-author of the research, which was scheduled to be presented Monday in Chicago at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.
Surf The Web
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