hats off to Ouroborus… last night/this morning i let booze and,
unjust, emotions get the best of me when addressing this
entry/article…. it’s all bullsh*t..and i know better.. we all know
better…create yr own reality and make it well… the greatest is
love and only love can spring from it… honestly, Ouroborus, yr
honesty, nearly made me cry.

I would be interested to hear the difference between
recognizing really bad situations and expressing the
reality of said situations; and negativity. I would
concede that one who saw only the worst and never acknowledged the good things going on in the world
around us would in fact be guilty of negativity or a
one sided view at best. The very nature of the
articles published here generally deal with
controversy and often polarizing issues. I find it
very difficult (when dealing with politics, economic
issues, personal freedoms, terrorism [perpetual war],
and human rights issues)to see much to cheer about.
However, when I look at my day to day life, my wife,
the wonderful people in my adopted country, and
things in general; I’m quite optimistic. Here in
Truthdig, I find it difficult.

Judge Richard Goldstone, who investigated Israel’s recent Gaza invasion, would have been a more deserving choice for the Nobel Peace Prize than the man who undermined him, President Barack Obama.

Outraged—I cant site the exact study, but there are psychological studies that show that people who are sometimes considered “pessimists” have a much more realistic perception of themselves and others. (I know that “pessimisn” is supposed to be un-Merkin..lol) Realists tend to truly appreciate things when they are actually going well and people when they actually do great/courageous things.. Otherwise, there is no point in trying to differentiate. You just take whatever comes and deny it if you dont like it.

Maybe I’m a melancholy Dane—my dad used to say that we both were, as were my uncles and aunts. But at least I dont have to be perpetually disappointed, and I recall that, when I had good times, good laughs with them , or they paid me a compoliment or supported me—I knew it was real.

In general, I think I have a realistic assessment of how things are going-I would say that those who predicted (or predict now) that Obama was going to “change” things have predicted inaccurately—or have very low standards—I can see why, to a point, after Bush. Dems must forget how horrible he was (and enjoying it so much)and remember that the US was not always a Bushie/Clintonesque mess and that we dont have to accept it as such—unless the majority decides to.. But, I dont see how anyone who considers themselves anythng but a conservative can look at the state of the uS and feel good about where we are heading. I am not goint to just pretend that things are better because we have a Dem president or Congress or whatever. Better ‘n Bush should not become a permanent strategy for the uS.

I am not at all certain that people have a choice. But, I can tell you, when a normally fairly pessimistic person is happy, it is well founded in realism and contentedness.

Maybe you could actually call it Peace. Danes call it “hygge”—its a little hard to translate.

Giving Obama another prize certainly doesnt seem to be “holding his feet to the fire”—whatever happened to that?

Did George Tenat deserve the presidential medal of freedom? Of course not, but just because someone gives someone s prize doesnt mean that we all have to pretend as though he deserves it.

“liberals” were up in arms about Bush invading Iraq, but what is Obama doing to Pakistan? How can we make “demands” on Iran when we wont even make Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Profliferation treaty? i think that for someone to deserve a “peace’ prize, there shouold be a little more peace.

Not that that stopped then with Kissinger or others. Its going to make things worse for us in the MIddle East in the long run—-if they can get any worse..

Outraged, you have put the matter much better than I did.  You are quite right, I am a victim of black and white thinking.  I think some things are good and some are bad, and that a reasonable and decent person can tell the difference between them.  I think wars are bad, inequality is bad, violence is bad,  irrationality is bad.  I’m against them.  Heavily negative about them.

And you are quite right.  I am quite depressed about the state of the world and especially the state of the US.  I think its aweful and getting worse. It is quite true that this is negative thinking but for some reason I don’t have your faith that Obama is making things better.  He is continuing Bushite polices, turning the US into a police state to manage the class inequality.  What happened to your belief in Nader?  do you just go with the winner and to hell with the policies?

But, again you are quite right, I want the world to conform to my preconceptions.  I want people to live happy, productive and enlightened lives.  But they can’t do so while they are being exploited by plutocracies and oppressed by power structures.

What do you suggest in place of negative thinking, poitive thinking about inequality, violence, barbarism and irrationality?  Or maybe its better to pretend that they aren’t there, or that the Dems are confronting them.  Or perhaps a kind of intellectual mush, one one hand this, on the other hand that.  I the only mushheads I am fond of are on mushrooms. 

Kind of like the Educated in the univesities.  When confronted with a choice between the true or the false, they prefer a Golden Mean between these two Extremes.  I prefer black and white thinking, so decent people can understand the difference between good and evil take a stand against oppression. Not support The Lesser Evil.

Re: Folktruther

Your comment: “I say, and I say it with pride, that I have always thought negative.”

Are you serious?  This is black and white thinking.  Have you not considered that being negative all the time is as unrealistic and every bit as foolish as being positive all the time....?  I’m not always positive, but I’m certainly not perpetually negative either.  Right now, I’m simply dumbfounded that you are espousing pride in being perpetually negative… WTF?  That’s bizarre.

“The basic attitude which lies behind Black and White Thinking can often play a role with other issues as well, particularly in how we evaluate the state of our lives. People who suffer from depression, even in mild forms, commonly view the world in black and white, categorizing experiences and events in extreme terminology that fits with their generally negative perspective on life.

This is not to say that everyone who engages in Black and White Thinking is depressed or suffering from a mental problem. Instead, the point is simply to note that there is a common pattern to such thinking, whether it occurs in the context of depression or in the context of flawed arguments. The problem involves the attitude one takes with respect of the world around us, insisting that it conform to our preconceptions rather than adjusting our thinking to accept the world as it is.”
http://atheism.about.com/od/logicalflawsinreasoning/a/blackwhite.htm

Re: MeHere

Your comment: “This unrealism IS a plague.  It’s good to periodically remind ourselves that this popular school of positive thinking is a fraud (if I remember right, C. Hedges wrote a good article on this.)”

I read and responded to the very article you speak of, I did not interpret Mr. Hedges article to be endorsing negativity….  Is that how you interpreted the article?  The way I remember the article it was about actual programs and tactics used by business and industry to control and circumvent their employees from thinking rationally.  As I’ve said above it is every bit as irrational to be perpetually negative as it is to be perpetually positive.

sollipsist, October 10 at 11:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Nobel = Grammy = Oscar

I nominate Obama for the Marisa Tomei Lifetime Achievement Award in the Field of Not Blatantly Sucking Too Badly

Unfair to Ms. Tomei. She was brilliant in “My Cousin Vinny” for which she won an Oscar. Obama just sucks.

Rayven writes “... racist, bigots, and illiterates “do not like facts (truth)” when presenting their thoughts/opinion…so as I read over some of the negative comments (posted) I have to wonder….which of the above categories each this people fit in.”
How different this jive is from the jive right wingers were saying when you criticized C&W????
Are we stooping to their level already?

Caryyl—Is that really all the Dems have going for them now, that theyre better than rightwingnuts? lowered expectations…now, argue for the Obama Nobel prize without pointing out GOP deficiencies…its almost all promises and as long as we are bombing civilians , on Obama’s command,a Nobel Prize is offensive.

Stop giving things to Obama , for winning an election, and let him earn something—-he has charmed his way through life and needs to learn how to accomplish some of the things he promises. He never will , if you guys keep covering his ass. (he prob wont anyway)

Rayven—there you Dems go again—you have to stop trying to skate on “better n Bush”.(so waas my goldfish) Youre not doing Obama any favord in the long run, you know. You treat him like a child.

Look back to before Bush, even with that insfufferable Clinton—we always talked to other countries. We always tried to reduce nukes (at least as well as we are now—could start with Israel). Bush was the only one since the Berlin Wall came down to talk about expanding nukes. You just want to be correct at the cost of being right.—you guys are all hungover from Bush. We have a right to expect better, not so much for the prize, but for our country and the planet.

How is Obama not Clinton? Is this the best the Democratic party can offer?

It is just unbelievable to me, the extent peopel wil go to to convince themselves that things are going swimmingly and that promises fulfilled are ‘right around the corner”!

FT—Yes very sick of “keep your chin up” shit…

To Jean Gerard

          Wath has the WWII and Hollocaust to do with an un deserved honour, its like in France all good friends geth an Legion d’honeur, that they call democratic, its an devaluation from respect and netteté.

Salutation

“Congratulations to the Norwegians for having the wisdom to give President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize”...you might have thought they’d used up all their great wisdom in giving this cynical prize to that towering giant of peace, Henry Kissinger a while back. But no, they still had enough “wisdom” left over to find another mad bomber in brother Barack, who’s following faithfully in the imperial footsteps of Dr.Strangelove, to repeat that 1973 mistake. “He’s earned it”...every bit as much as the investment bankers, flush with government bailout funds, have earned their fat bonuses.  “Obama himself was humble”...rhetorically, at least, which is usually as far as it ever goes with him. “‘To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of piece’ (sic)” he said.  Well, he got that right anyway – even if he didn’t get the spelling correct - and he’s certainly not alone in feeling that he doesn’t belong there. “But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world”..where pol’s give stirring speeches and then go out and do terrible things. “And all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding fathers”...whatever that means?? “in fact, in Obama’s short time in office, his achievements have been substantial. He killed”...a lot of Afghans and Pakistani’s and Palestinians. “Obama was able to announce that Iran would open its nuclear facility at Qom to inspectors”...or else! And he was able to NOT announce that Israel would open its nuclear facility at Dimona to inspectors – earning the gratitude of zionist shils like Boyarsky. “And while few—including the Israelis and Palestinians—expect success from Obama’s Mideast peace efforts, he has”...pulled back, abandoning legal and moral imperatives to freeze settlement construction – again endearing him to his zionist masters. “One thing is clear: Obama brought a view of the world that was absent from Washington during the Bush years”...but continued most of Bush’s policies, anyway. “And don’t discount his speeches and his message of hope”...it helped him raise a billion bucks in the campaign didn’t it, and that ain’t hay! “If Obama leads the country into a hopeless war to support a corrupt government”...or a criminal war to support a puppet govt., it will be more than an effing “ironic note” for all those innocents that needlessly perish. And one thing it most certainly will not be is peace. But Boyarsky doesn’t “think it will happen.” So what more proof could you possibly want?! This is the same Boyarsky mind you who, a few short months ago was cheering on the Israeli stormtroopers during their blitzkreig in Gaza. So take it from that unflagging champion of peace and justice Boyarsky, “The Nobel Prize will help him and his administration to do even more”...to slaughter and blockade, that is. And Boyarsky can be expected to be right there urging him on. Too bad there wasn’t a Nobel Prize in jaundiced journalism for hateful hacks like Boyarsky.

I for one applaud the bold step of the NC in awarding president Obama the NPP….yes he deserves it! The facts clearly show (have you forgotten so soon the last eight years….my goodness!)from the start of his journey to the White house he has not only put America back on the map as a “world” leader not a dictator, and given millions of people all around the world, not just hope, but a conviction to move forward (together) with making the world a better and peaceful place!

Any of you who feel he should not have won the NPP because he is a “new” to the job, or to question “what has he done thus far”....I say look not only at past “honorees” of this prestigious award and what they did before receiving the award, but as well how his leadership and administration has already changed the worlds perception of the US. As well, how his international strategy “has already put American and the World on a much, much better course then before…..again just the facts.

I do understand that racist, bigots, and illiterates “do not like facts (truth)” when presenting their thoughts/opinion…so as I read over some of the negative comments (posted) I have to wonder….which of the above categories each this people fit in.

Yes, he has a lot more work to do, and mainly because he has to clean up the vile mess left by the previous (republican) administration…..“remember (facts) that he did indeed walk into a disaster, but did not create it….“memory check people”.

President Obama deserves the award, and like he said, he views this award as among other things a “call to action”. 

“You are either part of the problem or part of the solution”.....choose wisely.

Strange to give any peace prize to Barack Obama who, along with Hillary Clinton, has been trying to obstruct the investigation of Israeli war crimes in the recent Gaza invasion.

I’ve now read the rationale that Obama deserves the prize in part for dismantling the missile defense program in multiple places. There might be something to that if it were true…

He nixed the land-based shield in favor of the Aegis Destroyer based system because it is cheaper and more effective.

His bombshell about the Qom facility was timed in such a way that it distracted from an international meeting that was purported to be about reforming the financial system. And all we heard about was the Iranian nuclear program…not to mention that his statement that we found it before the Iranians revealed it to the IAEA may be completely false.

And while his administration keeps harping on Iran’s nuclear weapon program, there is, in fact, no evidence that Iran is pursuing weapons capability. (which doesn’t mean that it isn’t)

I also take issue with Mr. Boyarsky’s “if” he escalates Afghanistan and Pakistan. He’s been escalating the conflict since he entered office, and he’s said on numerous occasions that the US will not withdraw. So Mr. Boyarsky’s thinking that he will not lead the country deeper into a hopeless war in support of a corrupt government appears to be contradicted by the facts, especially the fact that the Obama administration is papering over what looks like a fraudulent election.

I think most are in agreement that the prize doesn’t match the accomplishment. That said, the Nobel Peace Prize has often been used to influence politics. By awarding it to him at this time, they are clearly trying to influence events. To me, this is like telling a “C” student that you expect him to make an “A.” It’s an attempt by the commitee to be proactivee rather than reactive. It gives him some shoes to fill and we shouldn’t underestimate the power of legacy to influence a person’s actions. This award unofficially makes him the leader of more than just the United States. Large expectations have hung around his neck. We’ll see if he lives up them.

“Two members of the Nobel committee resigned, while the song-writer Tom Lehrer famously said that the award showed that satire had become obsolete. Perhaps showing a slightly larger capacity for shame than his counterpart, Le Duc Tho refused his share of the prize [with Henry Kissinger in 1973] on the grounds that a true peace did not yet exist.”

Norwegians who gave Obama the Nobel Prize
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/54574,news-comment,news-politics,norwegian-committee-who-anointed-obama-are-a-nobel-prize-oddity-peace

Hmm, maybe it’s stopping the attacking/bombing of Iran, reining in Israel as a rogue state, and, and, I don’t know; is it the world giving input?

Stopping the bombing Ouroboros notes, I have heard not a word from Mr. Nobelist that such an action is off the table…have you?

Reigning in Israel? Oh , now I see, you are being sarcastic. Sorry.

What is Boyarsky thinking? Obama has been like a Lame
Duck President. He has done nothing substantial. He surely
didn’t deserve a peace prize. The whole thing is a shame and
Obama will continue to anger the poor soles who believed in
him with the “Hope a dope”.

I see Obama apologists like Bush apologists are at it again. It is not only this column but other media like MSNBC are making exact same mistakes that Bush’s crowd made and are making. I am willing to bet that Obama will increase troop level in Afghanistan and then let see how this columnist and other apologists will try to butter that up. Look when Emperor is naked it behoove progressives to tell the truth and call him naked both on domestic and international fronts.

Folktruther -right on!

This unrealism IS a plague.  It’s good to periodically remind ourselves that this popular school of positive thinking is a fraud (if I remember right, C. Hedges wrote a good article on this.)  It is also an expression of where we are as a society: empathy is not valued, the focus is on self-interest, political corruption is not seriously questioned, and change is only cosmetic.

Yes, the rich and their money… take the power away from them and from whoever aspires to follow in their footsteps and the excess of wealth will be taken care of.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee is nothing more than a “progressivism-o-meter” By that standard, Obama richly deserves the prize.

Why not George Mitchell? Why not what’s-her-name from Myanmar? Why not Benazir Bhutto? Why not the Dalai Lama?

I’ll bet Hugo Chavez was on the short list.

ardee, October 10 at 8:19 am #

...it ignores the work of some much more deserving
folks.
===============================================
That’s the rub for me. There’s 3+ years left to judge
what he deserves; what’s the hurry?
Hmm, maybe it’s stopping the attacking/bombing of
Iran, reining in Israel as a rogue state, and, and, I
don’t know; is it the world giving input? Is it the
world calling for sanity in a time of insanity? Is it
a call for thought? I don’t know. I just don’t know
any more. I do know something must change or we’re in
for more trouble than we can possibly imagine.

The nominations for this prize were made back in January, when the echoes of Obama’s inauguration were still resounding. Thus he was nominated when he had yet to make his first executive decision.

The list of Nobelists who have won for the cause of peace are all transformative people, those who have had very positive effects upon their nation or the world. Barack Obama is , at best, a work in progress. This award is simply undeserved. Worse, it ignores the work of some much more deserving folks.

Certainly from our standpoint, this gives us a sense of momentum—when the United States has accolades tossed its way, rather than shoes.

The comment was made by Assistant Secretary PJ Crowley, a spokesman for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Of course this “Prize” is a joke…  They gave it to Henry Kissinger back in ‘73 for gosh sake.  Obama is a psychopath and mass murderer.. Kissinger is a psychopath and mass murderer… Wilson was a psychopath and mass murderer.. Roosevelt (teddy I) was a psychopath and mass murderer…  What’s the solution to this insanity???  You got me tree’d….. But I’ve got more important things to do- like picking up a 30 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon… It’s on sale for $14.99….  Now that’s a prize we can agree on….

I am very happy, that the well thinking American people think as we do in Europe, this Nobel peace price is given to some body who don’t deserved it, I hope it will be don’t deserved it yet.

Maby he can free him self from the enormes pressior
from all loby’s and paying guest in the white house.

salutation.

Why not award it posthumously to Benazir Bhutto?  Why aren’t peacemakers like International Aid Worker Margaret Hassan ever recognized?  Right, I forgot, fame the most critical component to winning this award…

Of the myriad of arguments against Obama deserving this award that Bill B. declined to mention, the one that stands out the most to me is the escalation of the war in Iraq.  (At least he gave a paltry mention of his escalation of the conflict in Afghanistan.)  In Iraq—remember that war?—private contractors are up 23% since Obama took office (over 160,000 now), and troop levels remain at well over 120,000.  What ever happened to the promise of bringing home one brigade a month for 12 months?  Simple question for you, Mr. president…Why isn’t that happening?  And whatever happened to the Guantanamo deadline?  How’s that whole ending torture thing going?  Are we there yet? 

The Swedes are guilty of the same Obama-idolatry that many slovenly democrats in America continue to practice.  “Blind faith can lead you off a cliff,” said Cornell West tonight on Bill Maher.  That cliff is in our rear-view mirror right about now.

Bill Boyarsky…i cant help myself: BOOOOO!!!!!!

What I really hate about Boyarsky, etc is their positive attitude.  Barbara Ehrenreich developed cancer and was told to look on hte bright side.  What bright side?  Old time religion plagued you to look on the sunny side of life.  And this unrealism IS a plague, as Barbara maintains.

I say, and I say it with pride, that I have always thought negative.  We happen to be living at a time in history when the greatest need of Americans is the creative distruction of the plutocracy that rules us.  It is spreading violence, barbarism and irrationality in the world.  I have said before and I say it again:

    TAKE THE MONEY AWAY FROM THE RICH!

This is beyond farcical. This man is responsible for killing people in 3 different countries. He’s not ending the war, he’s escalating it. Both military and civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased since he took office, and he’s getting ready to send even more troops there. He sends drone bombers into Pakistan to terrorize people, and they are killing civilians every week. Peace prize? They have selected the one man in the world who is responsible for killing the most people in 2009.

““The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished?’ ” RNC Chairman Michael Steele said.”

No Michael, the real question most Americans are asking is “When will you and the Republican Party grow up?”

“Childish Antics” is appropriately descriptive of the Repudiated Republican Party of No reactions to anything involving President Obama including his winning the Nobel Peace Prize. But one must also add that such childish behavior at every turn and on every front sadly impacts and impedes our country from moving forward in effectively dealing with the critical issues and challenges facing all of us in common.

Rather than participate in developing and reaching adult solutions, they are juvenile content to turn everything into an issue or problem. Much like the contrary Indian in Little Big Man who insisted on riding backwards on his horse, the Repudiated Republican Party of No childishly insist on being backwards contrary at every opportunity.

And no adult should anticipate them growing up anytime soon.

Republicans: Hurry Up and Grow Up Please!

UnchiNeko,

it’s ok .. i think a lot of us have been made very upset by this ABSURDITY.  it is now 2am and i can’t sleep .. there are MILLIONS of people on this earth, at this very moment, whose lives are absolute HELL because of the actions - and inaction - of powerful people like this latest nobel laureate .. oh but he is such an elegant man, and what pretty speeches he makes ..

i realize that my previous comment may seem rough… but the
man has deployed children killing robots daily—- how rough is
that???? i guess it is standard for a “country” that names a
nuclear missile the “peace keeper”....oh?!?!... that’s why he got
the award… He is a peacemaker b/c he is the steward of so
many “peace keepers”..... gross.

—-NESTofFour, my sentiments exactly…it seems to me that
this is indeed “all a joke.” holy f’n sh*t!!! is it ever!!!! from
truthdig to commondreams to fox… i have watched this
unfold all day and i can’t wrap my puny lil, some may say
‘cynical,’ realist head around it…this may be one of the most
ridiculous things i have ever read. am i awake?—- i’m gonna
have a few more beers- hope to pass out in this dream within
a dream—-and maybe wake back up in a world in which the
enlightenment actually happened… not this new dark age in
which i seem to be residing currently…. f’ me… bill b, eat a
bag of dicks… f’n sympathizer, propagandist collaborator….
dude should be shaved.

this is a joke, right?

Yes, Bil, you should have mention ed it long ago. Obama surely deserved the nobel prize. Right.

He surely deserved the Senate, in Illinois, the Senate and the presidency. He deserves to have everything and the people of Afghanistqan deserve nothing but drones.

We shoudlve given the prizes in Science and Physics to people who might to great things someday too.

Lets just start calilng it the “We really hope you will even though all evidence points to the contrary ” prize.

Doesnt anyone else think that such a prize should go to some unsung hero that gave life or limb for peace and needs some financial/media support? Why do people feel so compelled to give Obaam things for merely (half-assed) doing his job?

Its a “better n bush” prize.