Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The blues
The morning sickness blues. In a nutshell life sucks and will continue to suck for the next 6 weeks...at least. GAWD! Even worse my stupid hormones have made me homesick. But I still don't want to move back. Not yet. I'd regret it. My hormones made me hate Hawaii. I refuse to hate Germany! My mom is bringing me an accupuncture bracelet this weekend when she comes to visit. I reaaaaaaaaaaaaally hope it works. When this is all said and done I deserve a spa day.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
President Obama Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize...nuff said
Why is it so hard to acknowledge that President Barack Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize?
When I went online today, I could feel the cynicism oozing from my computer. “Premature ejaculation in Stockholm,” a Slate editor wrote on Twitter, perhaps not realizing that the prize is given out in Oslo, Norway and not the Swedish capital.
Online, the GOP (along with such peace-loving groups as Hamas and the Taliban) issued a response that was as predictable as it was pathetic: Obama and the Nobel Prize Committee were both to be condemned.
Let’s get something straight: When Alfred Nobel, a Swedish arms manufacturer and inventor of dynamite, bequeathed his considerable estate to establish, among other things, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1895, it was established for "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." According to the rules, the prize is awarded, not for lifelong achievement, but to the one who has done the most to create an atmosphere of peace and reconciliation over the past year.
Like Martin Luther King Jr., you don’t have to wait a lifetime to win. King was the youngest person ever to win the prize in 1964, the year after his “I Have a Dream,” speech. At that time, the peace associated with the civil rights movement was far from being achieved. The committee could have easily argued that King needed more experience. If they had done so, he would likely have won the award posthumously.
Using those standards, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres would not have won in 1994 for attempting to advance peace in the Middle East. Rigoberta Menchú Tum wouldn’t have won for her efforts at justice and reconciliation in post-civil war Guatemala. Aung San Suu Kyi would still be waiting for her prize since democracy and human rights would remain illusive in Burma.
It’s like Archbishop Desmond Tutu said when he congratulated Obama today: “It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama’s message of hope.”
So what hope did the committee glean from Obama over the past year? They rightly saw more movement on the Iran nuclear issue through dialogue than there has been achieved over the past eight years of the Bush administration. They saw U.S.-led efforts to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty—something that Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei noted when he said that Obama "has done in nine months what many people would take a generation to do."
They listened to an administration that has pledged to close down Guantanamo and leave Iraq. They noticed that for the first time since Jimmy Carter, American political discourse has focused on accountability of governments and human rights—Hillary Clinton’s recent condemnation of the murder and rape of opposition demonstrators in Guinea being but an example. For the first time in more than eight years, we have an administration that is willing to listen to the Middle East and willing to tackle the challenges associated with that elusive peace process.
These struggles are complicated and frustrating and nowhere near from being over. Any number of Obama efforts could go badly at anytime. But in issuing the prize to Obama, the committee decided to take the chance to do something relevant. It decided to give the prize as a call to action—in short, as a gesture of hope.
Should Obama be humbled? He’d better be! He’s no Martin Luther King Jr., and he’s no Nelson Mandela. Anybody with any common sense would argue that much more needs to be done. Darfur, Burma, Sri Lanka and Yemen are on the back burner when they shouldn’t be. The health care debate in America keeps us exasperated. And we all feel that the critical issue of American joblessness deserves more attention. To be sure, hope is both what defines the Obama presidency and what leaves us so cynical about its shortcomings.
But as we count up the reasons for pessimism, let’s also take the time to celebrate what has been achieved. Regardless of the troubles ahead, the message of this administration is being heard. The committee understood that America under Obama is again a part of the community of nations—willing to listen and willing to lead.
Many of the past recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize are people who profoundly moved us because the work they did in their own countries was a beacon of hope and inspiration to the rest of the world: Nelson Mandela, Muhamed Yunus, Wangari Maathai, the Dalai Lama.
They fought inequity and injustice in their own countries in such powerful ways that the rest of us took notice. We raised our eyes above the petty scandals and brawls ever-present in each of our national debates, and focused on some other country where brave people were taking a mighty stand. We took notice.
Maybe the Nobel Committee's selection is a manifestation of the feeling that others around the world feel about Barack Obama winning the election to be our president.
We assume that while other people can win the Nobel for what they did in their own countries, an American could only win for what he or she has done in other countries. We Americans don't change, we teach others to change. But the history of inequity and injustice, separation and division between blacks and whites in America is as old as our history on this soil. It has defined the creation of our economy, culture, health and justice systems.---Written by Gregory Beals a political analyst based out of the Middle East. This guy write it perfectly.
The Nobel Prize often comes to its recipients at a time when their struggle in their country has been massive, but the work is far from done. It is recognition that the rest of the world sees them and supports them. Barack Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for what he did in 2008 to create a change in THIS country that none of us thought could happen. He built a bridge to our shared dream of a more perfect union. Even those who did not vote for him recognized his election as a seminal moment in American, and therefore world history.
And when it comes to crucial international relations I am quite impressed with Obama's success and acheivements. Here is what other leaders around the world have said of him:
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said the award marked “America’s return to the hearts of the world’s peoples,”
while Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said it was an “incentive to the president and to us all” to do more for peace. “In a short time he has been able to set a new tone throughout the world and to create a readiness for dialogue, For a world that at times felt pushed around by a more unilateralist Bush administration, the prize for Mr. Obama seemed wrapped in gratitude for his willingness to listen and negotiate, as well as for his positions on climate change and nuclear disarmament. " She said
Mr. Carter called the award to Mr. Obama “a bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment.”
Mr. Gore called Mr. Obama’s award “well deserved” on Friday.
"I hope this decision would serve as an additional incentive for our common work to form a new climate in world politics and promote initiatives which are fundamentally important for global security," Medvedev (Russian President) said in a letter to Obama.
South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, cited a Zulu term — "Ubuntu," which refers to the importance of community" — in saying Obama's "leadership reflects the true spirit of Ubuntu because your approach celebrates our common humanity."
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro called the Nobel award a "positive step," although he said it was more a repudiation of former President George W. Bush than a recognition of anything concrete Obama has done.
So stop being so DAMN NEGATIVE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!
When I went online today, I could feel the cynicism oozing from my computer. “Premature ejaculation in Stockholm,” a Slate editor wrote on Twitter, perhaps not realizing that the prize is given out in Oslo, Norway and not the Swedish capital.
Online, the GOP (along with such peace-loving groups as Hamas and the Taliban) issued a response that was as predictable as it was pathetic: Obama and the Nobel Prize Committee were both to be condemned.
Let’s get something straight: When Alfred Nobel, a Swedish arms manufacturer and inventor of dynamite, bequeathed his considerable estate to establish, among other things, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1895, it was established for "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." According to the rules, the prize is awarded, not for lifelong achievement, but to the one who has done the most to create an atmosphere of peace and reconciliation over the past year.
Like Martin Luther King Jr., you don’t have to wait a lifetime to win. King was the youngest person ever to win the prize in 1964, the year after his “I Have a Dream,” speech. At that time, the peace associated with the civil rights movement was far from being achieved. The committee could have easily argued that King needed more experience. If they had done so, he would likely have won the award posthumously.
Using those standards, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres would not have won in 1994 for attempting to advance peace in the Middle East. Rigoberta Menchú Tum wouldn’t have won for her efforts at justice and reconciliation in post-civil war Guatemala. Aung San Suu Kyi would still be waiting for her prize since democracy and human rights would remain illusive in Burma.
It’s like Archbishop Desmond Tutu said when he congratulated Obama today: “It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama’s message of hope.”
So what hope did the committee glean from Obama over the past year? They rightly saw more movement on the Iran nuclear issue through dialogue than there has been achieved over the past eight years of the Bush administration. They saw U.S.-led efforts to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty—something that Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei noted when he said that Obama "has done in nine months what many people would take a generation to do."
They listened to an administration that has pledged to close down Guantanamo and leave Iraq. They noticed that for the first time since Jimmy Carter, American political discourse has focused on accountability of governments and human rights—Hillary Clinton’s recent condemnation of the murder and rape of opposition demonstrators in Guinea being but an example. For the first time in more than eight years, we have an administration that is willing to listen to the Middle East and willing to tackle the challenges associated with that elusive peace process.
These struggles are complicated and frustrating and nowhere near from being over. Any number of Obama efforts could go badly at anytime. But in issuing the prize to Obama, the committee decided to take the chance to do something relevant. It decided to give the prize as a call to action—in short, as a gesture of hope.
Should Obama be humbled? He’d better be! He’s no Martin Luther King Jr., and he’s no Nelson Mandela. Anybody with any common sense would argue that much more needs to be done. Darfur, Burma, Sri Lanka and Yemen are on the back burner when they shouldn’t be. The health care debate in America keeps us exasperated. And we all feel that the critical issue of American joblessness deserves more attention. To be sure, hope is both what defines the Obama presidency and what leaves us so cynical about its shortcomings.
But as we count up the reasons for pessimism, let’s also take the time to celebrate what has been achieved. Regardless of the troubles ahead, the message of this administration is being heard. The committee understood that America under Obama is again a part of the community of nations—willing to listen and willing to lead.
Many of the past recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize are people who profoundly moved us because the work they did in their own countries was a beacon of hope and inspiration to the rest of the world: Nelson Mandela, Muhamed Yunus, Wangari Maathai, the Dalai Lama.
They fought inequity and injustice in their own countries in such powerful ways that the rest of us took notice. We raised our eyes above the petty scandals and brawls ever-present in each of our national debates, and focused on some other country where brave people were taking a mighty stand. We took notice.
Maybe the Nobel Committee's selection is a manifestation of the feeling that others around the world feel about Barack Obama winning the election to be our president.
We assume that while other people can win the Nobel for what they did in their own countries, an American could only win for what he or she has done in other countries. We Americans don't change, we teach others to change. But the history of inequity and injustice, separation and division between blacks and whites in America is as old as our history on this soil. It has defined the creation of our economy, culture, health and justice systems.---Written by Gregory Beals a political analyst based out of the Middle East. This guy write it perfectly.
The Nobel Prize often comes to its recipients at a time when their struggle in their country has been massive, but the work is far from done. It is recognition that the rest of the world sees them and supports them. Barack Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for what he did in 2008 to create a change in THIS country that none of us thought could happen. He built a bridge to our shared dream of a more perfect union. Even those who did not vote for him recognized his election as a seminal moment in American, and therefore world history.
And when it comes to crucial international relations I am quite impressed with Obama's success and acheivements. Here is what other leaders around the world have said of him:
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said the award marked “America’s return to the hearts of the world’s peoples,”
while Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said it was an “incentive to the president and to us all” to do more for peace. “In a short time he has been able to set a new tone throughout the world and to create a readiness for dialogue, For a world that at times felt pushed around by a more unilateralist Bush administration, the prize for Mr. Obama seemed wrapped in gratitude for his willingness to listen and negotiate, as well as for his positions on climate change and nuclear disarmament. " She said
Mr. Carter called the award to Mr. Obama “a bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment.”
Mr. Gore called Mr. Obama’s award “well deserved” on Friday.
"I hope this decision would serve as an additional incentive for our common work to form a new climate in world politics and promote initiatives which are fundamentally important for global security," Medvedev (Russian President) said in a letter to Obama.
South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, cited a Zulu term — "Ubuntu," which refers to the importance of community" — in saying Obama's "leadership reflects the true spirit of Ubuntu because your approach celebrates our common humanity."
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro called the Nobel award a "positive step," although he said it was more a repudiation of former President George W. Bush than a recognition of anything concrete Obama has done.
So stop being so DAMN NEGATIVE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Leimen Farmer's Market
Every Thursday (I think) a farmer's market is set up in our little town. I have never bought anything (though Lexi did get a free sausage one time), but I like to go because it is quaint and just so darn cute. Unfortunatly for me what is normally a savory fragance of fresh meat, cheese and bread has become slightly tortorous for my stomach. My crazy hormones apparently don't get get along well my my nose nor stomach...for now. But hopefull once I get into the 2nd trimester all will be good again. Oh how I miss eating :(
Isn't this just so cute?
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| From Blog |
Isn't this just so cute?
 |
| From Blog |
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