12/10/2007 11:37:14 am
A Poor Norwegian Joke. For the somewhat odd reason that Norway was in an involuntary union with Sweden during the life of Alfred Nobel, it is the Norwegian Nobel Committee that makes the choice of Peace Prize winner. If you have a very generous sense of humour, this has provided material for lots of laughter throughout the years. Take the occasion when they chose to give the Prize to the infamous terrorist Yasser Arafat. After receiving that Prize, he dedicated most of the rest of his life to sabotaging any attempts of reaching peace in the Middle East.

Today, they announced that the IPCC and Al Gore are the joint winners of the Peace Prize of 2007. Indeed, they have had an impact. They have created a climate hysteria where science is largely ignored, discussion impossible and rational thinking absent. Not to mention the effects in terms of huge governmental programs that nobody knows if they are solidly founded or working at all. Without their efforts, we could have had a more sensible discussion about the climate.

And what in the world do their efforts have to do with peace? One wonders if the Norweigan Nobel Committee is just an opinion poll institute awarding persons who have made media healines. Perhaps, then, a candidate for next year would be Paris Hilton? But the most serious point is another: There are many people who take great risks and do enormous efforts for peace. Just think of the courageous monks in Burma. Awarding Al Gore is to ignore the real peace fighters.

Here is, by the way, a somewhat more extensive comment on the exaggerations and half-truths of the Peace Prize winner.