Friday, October 9, 2009

Now This is Cognitive Dissonance

In something of a shocker, Barack Obama has been awarded The Nobel Peace Prize. Apparently the decision has been made earlier than usual and is said to have been decided in Obama's favor:

to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.

Good luck with all that, and like just about everything else in the Obama Presidency, so far, all the warm and fuzzy talk of positive "change" is merely rhetoric. The reality is that military measures not only continue during the Obama Administration, but will likely expand, at least in Afghanistan. Furthermore, no meaningful change in the Bush posture of executive over reach, particularly as it pertains to the secret treatment of suspects in the War on Terror, has occurred. And while I know that Obama has nothing to do with NASA's explosion of a space craft on the moon, if that is indeed what NASA is doing, to this observer, the award of The Noble Peace Prize, in the context of the entire Obama theatre of operations, lends itself to a strong feeling of cognitive dissonance

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2009/10/09/us_president_barack_obama_wins_nobel_peace_prize/

8 comments:

DED said...

Yeah, Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is definitely a shocker. All he's really done is sand down the rough edges of W's foreign policy. I really find it hard to believe there wasn't a better choice. I'll grant that Obama's making some overtures, but not enough to garner a Nobel.

And while I know that Obama has nothing to do with NASA's explosion of a space craft on the moon, if that is indeed what NASA is doing

NASA deliberately crashed part of a spacecraft into the Moon for scientific purposes. The impact jettisons tons of debris into space, which the main spacecraft analyzes for water, volatiles and other material.

You can read about it here.

You can read the preliminary results here.

Edwardo said...

Ded wrote:

"All he's really done is sand down the rough edges of W's foreign policy."

I like that.

Thai said...

I am loath to ever use a Fox link for anything but I think in this particular instance, it is grudgingly worth a nod.

Having made for of him, I am also very fond of him for the record and I do think the fact he got it is a positive statement about European/worldwide feelings about the US.

Just my 2 cents

Regards

Edwardo said...

Thai, it may be a positive statement of the sort you assert, though I wouldn't go any father than to say that, as a statement, it likely only signifies the desires of a small coterie of Europeans who sit on the Peace Prize Committee. I was going to add that awarding the Prize to Obama, because one hopes he will become the sort of leader that embodies the Peace Prize, cheapens it.

However, when I consider some of the individuals who have received The Nobel Peace Prize, it strikes me that the prize has already been cheapened.

Thai said...

I completely agree with you re: cheapening


To quote Two Face from the movie Batman, The Dark Knight

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"

Regards

Thai said...

fyi.

Edwardo said...

One good video deserves another.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1xAI1L2P4&feature=player_embedded#

P.S. Don't forget to cut and paste.

Thai said...

My morning coffee went into my nose I laughed so hard