Obama, Nobel Peace Prize

The Monkey · 10-13-2009, 07:06 PM

The Peace Prize has been a joke for a very long time, what else is new?

Inuzuka Skysword · 10-13-2009, 08:01 PM

To be honest, I would have never imagined someone from Sweden saying that.

~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ · 10-13-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inuzuka Skysword

To be honest, I would have never imagined someone from Sweden saying that.

He's not a normal Swede. He is... otherworldly in nature.

anticipation · 10-13-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

He's not a normal Swede. He is... otherfjordly in nature.

fixed.

~~CAPTAIN CAVEMAN~~ · 10-14-2009, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anticipation

fixed.

Guybrush · 10-14-2009, 02:25 AM

Come on - Alfred Nobel was swedish, but the prize is handed out in Norway and Norway is also the country known for the fjords.

Sweden is known for it's blonde girls and safe cars.

The Monkey · 10-14-2009, 04:27 AM

Trivia: The reason Alfred Nobel put the Peace Prize in the hands of the Norwegians instead of the Swedes like the other rewards was that it was a more political prize, he he felt that the Norwegians could be more unbiased than the Swedes because they didn't have a foreign policy at the time (they were in a union with Sweden, and only had control of some domestic affairs).

Anyway, the Peace Prize has always gone with the trends of the day, hardly taking into account if the laureates' work will have long-term benefits. The other five prices are by all means more respectable, although I don't always agree with their handling of the literature or economic prizes (that they gave the latter to Milton Friedman says everything).

Guybrush · 10-14-2009, 04:41 AM

I think the most interesting trivia about the nobel prize is really why we have it.

Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite .. That's common knowledge here, but maybe not overseas. Anyways, the story goes that his obituary was wrongfully published before his death and that it condemned him for his contribution to weaponry and new ways to kill people. Maybe he felt he deserved it or thought he had some bad karma going. Either way, he didn't want to be remembered just as the inventor of something that made war possible in new and destructive ways, so he used his resources to set up the Nobel Prizes to be awarded annually after his death.

It sounds a bit like he was forced to by his guilty conscience

Good man, though, that Alfred.

boo boo · 10-14-2009, 05:41 AM

Yeah, people should cut Alfred a break, he invented dynamite with noble intentions, sure he should have known better and realised people would make a weapon out of it, but mankind can make a weapon out of anything.

Remember, the guy who invented the television had great intentions too, he intended for it to be a great educational tool, so you can't hate the guy just because he didn't foresee the horror that is reality TV.

TheBig3 · 10-14-2009, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toretorden

Come on - Alfred Nobel was swedish, but the prize is handed out in Norway and Norway is also the country known for the fjords.

Sweden is known for it's blonde girls and safe cars.

And Ikea...sweet, sweet, Ikea.

honeslty, I think I have more trouble differentiating the nordic countries than I do the countrys that bore out of the Eastern Bloc.

10-14-2009, 02:25 AM	#36 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	Come on - Alfred Nobel was swedish, but the prize is handed out in Norway and Norway is also the country known for the fjords. Sweden is known for it's blonde girls and safe cars. __________________ Something Completely Different

10-14-2009, 04:41 AM	#38 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	I think the most interesting trivia about the nobel prize is really why we have it. Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite .. That's common knowledge here, but maybe not overseas. Anyways, the story goes that his obituary was wrongfully published before his death and that it condemned him for his contribution to weaponry and new ways to kill people. Maybe he felt he deserved it or thought he had some bad karma going. Either way, he didn't want to be remembered just as the inventor of something that made war possible in new and destructive ways, so he used his resources to set up the Nobel Prizes to be awarded annually after his death. It sounds a bit like he was forced to by his guilty conscience Good man, though, that Alfred. __________________ Something Completely Different

10-13-2009, 07:06 PM	#31 (permalink)
The Monkey Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 803	The Peace Prize has been a joke for a very long time, what else is new?

10-13-2009, 08:01 PM	#32 (permalink)
Inuzuka Skysword Existential Egoist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,468	To be honest, I would have never imagined someone from Sweden saying that.

10-14-2009, 04:27 AM	#37 (permalink)
The Monkey Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 803	Trivia: The reason Alfred Nobel put the Peace Prize in the hands of the Norwegians instead of the Swedes like the other rewards was that it was a more political prize, he he felt that the Norwegians could be more unbiased than the Swedes because they didn't have a foreign policy at the time (they were in a union with Sweden, and only had control of some domestic affairs). Anyway, the Peace Prize has always gone with the trends of the day, hardly taking into account if the laureates' work will have long-term benefits. The other five prices are by all means more respectable, although I don't always agree with their handling of the literature or economic prizes (that they gave the latter to Milton Friedman says everything).