BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?

Subject: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 01:54 PM

According to a classified document prepared for Rumsfeld by his Defense Science Board, the new organization -- the "Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG)" -- will carry out secret missions designed to "stimulate reactions" among terrorist groups, provoking them into committing violent acts which would then expose them to "counterattack" by U.S. forces....

P2OG

Dr. Kim Myong Chul, Japanese-born expert on North Korea's military, has stated in the past that North Korea has more than 100 nukes, including hydrogen bombs. In a series of statements recently, Dr. Kim asserts that the nukes will strike American cities if the Bush administration imposes economic sanctions or other hostile moves against North Korea....

Korean Nukes

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The Pentagon has drawn up plans to bomb a North Korea nuclear plant if it reprocesses spent nuclear fuel rods, according to an Australian newspaper report on Tuesday that was quickly downplayed by Australian officials....

The Korean Plan

OSLO (Reuters) - A Norwegian parliamentarian nominated President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, praising them for winning the war in Iraq...

Simonsen's Nominees

(Could someone explain to me how this all adds up to a Nobel Peace Prize for Bush and Blair?)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: Amos
Date: 10 May 03 - 02:01 PM

The Norwegiam Parlimentarian is a known kook who will not be taken seriously. The irrationality of his claim is pretty transparent.

A

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 02:50 PM

The prize winners often shouldn't be taken seriously. David Trimble comes to mind, for example.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 03:05 PM

I (one who started thread) heard a year ago Bush would be nominated. He's already acknowledged the photos of him in flight gear on the carrier will be used in the 're'election campaign, so how could you argue with a guy in a warrior's outfit who just won the Nobel Peace Prize? This can't be written off so lightly. Blair, too, has aspirations. He wants to be President of the EU.

The idea of the Peace Prize for those two belongs in Orwell's Ministry of Truth, where war is peace. Or so it seems.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: open mike
Date: 10 May 03 - 03:18 PM

the Nobel Peace Prize comes from money
which was generated by a not-so-peaceful
explosive (dynamite? T.N.T.? nitro-glycerine?)
and the funds are shared with peaceful people.
Perhaps to salve the guilt that the substance
may have caused by injuries, etc.

like the winchester mansion...built inspired
by the ghosts of the people who were the
victims of the winchester rifles. Mrs. W.
kept the hammers pounding building new rooms,
stairways, etc, to block out the sounds of the
voices of those who died from the weapons.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 10 May 03 - 03:23 PM

Dynamite.   

Nitro-glycerine is too unstable, and is dangerous to handle, in the extreme. Alfred Nobel invented the procedure of combining it with fuller's earth, which makes it a lot more handleable and predictable, and named it dynamite.

I stand to be corrected if I'm wrong, but I don't think dynamite has ever been a real war munition.   Still too unstable, and not in a form which is readily amenable to making into shells, bombs, et cetera.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: Padre
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:02 PM

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to some excellent persons over the years, but it has also been used as a political tool (see 1963 award) and like the other Nobel awards in the 'soft' sciences, has had some real clinkers. (see 1994)

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: Mugwump
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:03 PM

A peace prize

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:15 PM

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite so that nitroglycerine could be safely used in mining, quarrying, and other such non-military endeavors. Naturally, when a stable high explosive was produced, the military was quick to adopt it. (Gunpowder -- "black powder" -- and smokeless powder (nitrocellulose) don't burn fast enough to work well as "high" explosives.)

Military dynamite (60% nitro) is used for various purposes, such as blowing bridge abutments, when TNT or another, higher powered, explosive isn't available.

Nobel was appalled by the damage his invention had wrought. The Prizes were his attempt to bring about a better world by rewarding those who worked to make it so.

Like so many other things, something which started out well was adopted by the military for other ends.

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: Mugwump
Date: 10 May 03 - 07:20 PM

Peace, man ...

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 May 03 - 09:44 PM

The "pop-psych" analyses of both Nobel and Mrs Winchester have been frequently recited, but neither is confirmed by any reliable accounts that I've seen.

Nobel's own testimony generally held forth his belief that what he had done was a "good thing" of which he was not ashamed. He did realize that some people who saw only the destructive uses of dynamite believed that he was some sort of monster who had created something "evil," but there is some fairly substantial evidence that he disagreed.

Nobel apparently believed that making the good things done by scientists and other leaders better known would influence those who (wrongly - in his opinion) seek to "blame science and other advanced arts" for all the world's ills; and would help lead them to an understanding of the value of progress. The prizes he established were intended largely to publicize those who made some "worthy progress," and to provide a monetary reward sufficient to cause people to see that there was a "real value" in their work.

Nobel was "abused" by many because of his invention, and he responded to the abuse; but there is little real substantiation for the belief that he felt "guilty" about what he had done.

The story about Mrs Winchester's guilt is of a similar sort. She was very much sheltered by her husband and appears to have had no idea of how to get by without him. The house was incomplete when he died, and she grasped the completion of the house as her "purpose," - and her only purpose - in life. She became so obsessed with "completing" the house that she became convinced that her purpose would be fulfilled and she would die when it was finished. She was frankly insane (but rich) in her obsession with the house, but apparently retained some sense that she didn't want to die; so she kept adding things to the house to prevent it from ever being finished. Guilt over Winchester's guns is most likely a fabricated fantasy by someone who simply believed that she should feel guilty - and a lot of people seemed to like the idea.

Believe them if you choose to - they're nice romanticized tales; but neither of these is likely to have much more real substance than believing in the tooth fairy - who never showed up the last 10 or so times I put mine out to be found.

John

Subject: RE: BS: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 03 - 10:31 PM

Read all about it here:

Nobel Peace Prize