Al Gore Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

[Tender Branson]

Norwegian lawmakers nominate Al Gore for Nobel Peace Prize for climate campaign

Published: February 1, 2007

OSLO, Norway: Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore has been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world's attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday.

"A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference," Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

Brende said he joined political opponent Heidi Soerensen, of the Socialist Left Party, to nominate Gore as well as Canadian Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier before the nomination deadline expired Thursday.

"Al Gore, like no other, has put climate change on the agenda. Gore uses his position to get politicians to understand, while Sheila (Watt-Cloutier) works from the ground up," Brende said.

During eight years as Bill Clinton's vice president, Gore pushed for climate measures, including for the Kyoto Treaty, and after leaving office in 2001 has campaigned worldwide, especially with his Oscar-nominated documentary on climate change called "An Inconvenient Truth."

Watt-Cloutier won Norway's 2005 Sophie environment prize in 2005 for drawing attention to the impact of climate change and pollution on the traditional lifestyles of the Arctic's indigenous people and others.

National lawmakers are among the thousands of people and groups with rights to nominate Nobel candidates. Others include members of national governments, past laureates, members of the awards committee and its staff, and many university professors.

The secretive Nobel committee never comments on specific nominations, but members often note that anyone can be nominated. Last year, there were 191 nominations for the prize that went to Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded to help the poor.

Other announced nominations for the 2007 prize include Vietnamese Monk Thich Quang Do and Sail Training International, a British-based charity helping young people develop through sailing.

The five-member Norwegian awards committee accepts proposals postmarked by Feb. 1 and expects a rough count of nominations on Feb. 12.

The decision is traditionally announced in mid-October, with the prize always presented on the Dec. 10 anniversary of the death of its creator, Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel.

In 2004, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, which Brende said shows the award committee's focus on ecological problems as a source of conflict.

"I think climate change is the biggest challenge we face in this century," Brende said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/01/europe/EU-GEN-Norway-Nobel-Gore.php

...

[John Dibble]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Nobel Peace Prize supposed to be awarded to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". What does global warming have to do with that exactly?

[Gustaf]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Nobel Peace Prize supposed to be awarded to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". What does global warming have to do with that exactly?

You are wrong. the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the person whom we think have done generally nice things. Or something like that.

But, yes, it should adhere to the statutes and focus on actual peace. But people are dumb.

[??????????]

For inventing the internet?

[Silent Hunter]

Bush and Blair got nominated one year...

[MODU]

Rush has been nominated this year.  Maybe Rush and Gore will go at each other and both lose. 

[KEmperor]

Rush has been nominated this year.  Maybe Rush and Gore will go at each other and both lose. 

Celebrity Deathmatch!

[CultureKing]

Rush has been nominated this year.  Maybe Rush and Gore will go at each other and both lose. 

Celebrity Deathmatch!

Oh, definately, it would be a good one too!

[MODU]

Rush has been nominated this year.  Maybe Rush and Gore will go at each other and both lose. 

Celebrity Deathmatch!

Oh, definately, it would be a good one too!

Rush wins by eating Gore.  hahaha

[Beet]

Rush has been nominated this year.  Maybe Rush and Gore will go at each other and both lose. 

Celebrity Deathmatch!

Oh, definately, it would be a good one too!

Rush wins by eating Gore.  hahaha

Gore: It's warm in here.

[Jake]

So which UN/NGO bitch will win the non-award this year?

[angus]

But people are dumb.

Indeed, but Alfred Nobel wasn't one of them.  He was pessimistic, lonely, and a bit of a nerd, but dumb he wasn't.  He actually made his fortune on explosives.   The Nobel family's nitroglycerin factory blew up in 1864, killing Alfred's younger brother Emil and several other people.  But Alfred maintained his steady belief that if he could just find a safe way to manufacture his product he could make millions, even as occassional accidents killed his factory workers time and time again throughout the following decade.  Eventually he invented dynamite, and that secured a fortune for himself and his family. 

Of course, he wasn't entirely lonely.  It was his "friendship" with the Austrian freifrau Bertha von Suttner that inspired him to establish the prize for peace.

Anyway, you're both wrong.  The Nobel Peace prize is as political as the other four original nobel prizes, and possibly as political as the one invented later by swiss interlopers.  You get nominated for a Nobel Prize, any of them, if you manage to say all the right things and impress all the right people.  Gore, as offensive as he is to me on a deep and profound personal level, has said many of the right things with regard to humanity, I must admit.  Fortunately for him I'm not on that committee, as he's offended me more often than he's said the right things.

[Gustaf]

But people are dumb.

Indeed, but Alfred Nobel wasn't one of them.  He was pessimistic, lonely, and a bit of a nerd, but dumb he wasn't.  He actually made his fortune on explosives.   The Nobel family's nitroglycerin factory blew up in 1864, killing Alfred's younger brother Emil and several other people.  But Alfred maintained his steady belief that if he could just find a safe way to manufacture his product he could make millions, even as occassional accidents killed his factory workers time and time again throughout the following decade.  Eventually he invented dynamite, and that secured a fortune for himself and his family. 

Of course, he wasn't entirely lonely.  It was his "friendship" with the Austrian freifrau Bertha von Suttner that inspired him to establish the prize for peace.

Anyway, you're both wrong.  The Nobel Peace prize is as political as the other four original nobel prizes, and possibly as political as the one invented later by swiss interlopers.  You get nominated for a Nobel Prize, any of them, if you manage to say all the right things and impress all the right people.  Gore, as offensive as he is to me on a deep and profound personal level, has said many of the right things with regard to humanity, I must admit.  Fortunately for him I'm not on that committee, as he's offended me more often than he's said the right things.

Duh, mister, I'm Swedish, I know who Nobel was.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Gore: drives a hybrid surrounded by multiple SUVs, refuses to fly commercial, and none of his houses use alternative fuels, bottom line he is a hyprocrit

Limbaugh: spreading Oxycottin throughout the world

You tell me who should win

[Tender Branson]

Al Gore tipped to win Nobel

 THE environmental campaigner Al Gore is being tipped as a favourite to win the Nobel peace prize in Oslo this Friday in a controversial move that could place saving the planet above saving people from war and conflict.

Gore, a former American vice-president and failed presidential candidate, has reinvented himself as the “Goracle” with a rock star following after presenting last year’s Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, about the dangers of climate change.

He was nominated for the Nobel prize jointly with Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit activist who has campaigned about the effect of climate change on Arctic peoples.

“A prerequisite for winning the Nobel peace prize is making a difference and Al Gore has made a difference,” said Boerge Brende, a former Norwegian environment minister who nominated Gore and Watt-Cloutier.

“I think they are likely winners this year,” said Stein Toennesson, director of Oslo’s International Peace Research Institute. The winner will receive $1.5m (£750,000) in prize money.

Gore spent last year assessing whether he ought to run for the White House in 2008, teasing his supporters by saying, “I haven’t completely ruled it out”, and prompting observers to keep a close eye on his girth for signs that he was slimming for a presidential bid.

Some commentators in America, including the British writer Christopher Hitchens, believe he could use a Nobel win to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

“Can he stand to watch another Clinton walk away with a nomination that could have been, or could still be, his?” Hitchens asked. Close supporters believe the answer is yes. Gore appears to have concluded that the Democrats are satisfied with their candidates. Global temperatures will rise 2.5C within the next century even if the world hits its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to the scientist leading research into the issue.

Story continues ...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2603982.ece

[Padfoot]

Nice job Nobel Peace Prize people.  You've just given us all another month of aL GorE needzs to be prezidant!!!!1!!1!! editorials.  Did Quinnipiac pay you to do this?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

OK, now Gore's going haywire on InTrade makes more sense.

[John Dibble]

I really hope he doesn't win this - it just sets a bad precedent. Global warming may be a central issue on the global political stage, but it's not one that really involves war and peace. I'm sure there are many people who've actually done something in that regard that deserve it far more.

[Jake]

They gave it to the UN anti-nukes shill a few years back. I'd rather have it in Gore's hands than his.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I really hope he doesn't win this - it just sets a bad precedent. Global warming may be a central issue on the global political stage, but it's not one that really involves war and peace. I'm sure there are many people who've actually done something in that regard that deserve it far more.

Well there are significant geo-political concerns in relation to global warming. Possible refugee issues, shortages of resources... not the least of which will be water in some parts of the world.

[opebo]

The first thing people do when faced with any economic setback such as those caused by global warming is attack their neighbors.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

I found out about this months ago. But that's cool that Al Gore is nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. Shame he isn't running for President, because if he was, I might have supported his candidacy.

[John Dibble]

I really hope he doesn't win this - it just sets a bad precedent. Global warming may be a central issue on the global political stage, but it's not one that really involves war and peace. I'm sure there are many people who've actually done something in that regard that deserve it far more.

Well there are significant geo-political concerns in relation to global warming. Possible refugee issues, shortages of resources... not the least of which will be water in some parts of the world.

The key word there is "possible" - we aren't completely sure what the effects of global warming will be. And it's not as if there aren't lots of other global warming activists out there. I would prefer that the prize go to someone who actually has done something proven with refugees and whatnot than someone who merely made a movie about what could possibly happen.

[CultureKing]

I really hope he doesn't win this - it just sets a bad precedent. Global warming may be a central issue on the global political stage, but it's not one that really involves war and peace. I'm sure there are many people who've actually done something in that regard that deserve it far more.

Well there are significant geo-political concerns in relation to global warming. Possible refugee issues, shortages of resources... not the least of which will be water in some parts of the world.

The key word there is "possible" - we aren't completely sure what the effects of global warming will be. And it's not as if there aren't lots of other global warming activists out there. I would prefer that the prize go to someone who actually has done something proven with refugees and whatnot than someone who merely made a movie about what could possibly happen.

you're right, we should use the wait and see approach because obviously science is not 100% right in predicting the changes in the earth and obviously it is not as if the predictions could bring about any horrible consequences that could be a threat a large portion of mankind and the other species we share this world with. Instead we should all just build some more coal power plants because everyone likes coal!

[John Dibble]

I really hope he doesn't win this - it just sets a bad precedent. Global warming may be a central issue on the global political stage, but it's not one that really involves war and peace. I'm sure there are many people who've actually done something in that regard that deserve it far more.

Well there are significant geo-political concerns in relation to global warming. Possible refugee issues, shortages of resources... not the least of which will be water in some parts of the world.

The key word there is "possible" - we aren't completely sure what the effects of global warming will be. And it's not as if there aren't lots of other global warming activists out there. I would prefer that the prize go to someone who actually has done something proven with refugees and whatnot than someone who merely made a movie about what could possibly happen.

you're right, we should use the wait and see approach because obviously science is not 100% right in predicting the changes in the earth and obviously it is not as if the predictions could bring about any horrible consequences that could be a threat a large portion of mankind and the other species we share this world with. Instead we should all just build some more coal power plants because everyone likes coal!

I was not implying anything about whether or not we should do something in regards to global warming. What I am implying is that we have not gauranteed that Al Gore has helped ANYONE. Frankly I think that a person who saves a bunch of Jewish children from being killed by Nazis is more deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize than a guy who only made a movie about global warming and has potentially saved nobody at all.