WikiLeaks Nominated For 2011 Nobel Peace Prize

mvar writes "Whistle-blower site WikiLeaks has been nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian politician who cited its role in freedom of speech, news agency NTB reported Wednesday. 'WikiLeaks is one of this century's most important contributors to freedom of speech and transparency,' parliamentarian Snorre Valen said in his nomination. Valen cited WikiLeaks' role in disclosing the assets of Tunisia's former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his nearest family, contributing to the protests that forced them into exile."

Comments

Century

[Squeeonline]

I hate when people say things like "X of the century". It's only about 10% of the way there yet, don't go spoiling the rest for us if you have future sight.

Re:Century

[Anonymous Coward]

The Nobel Peace Prize means absolutely nothing now. It was blatantly given to someone who had not earned it and did not deserve it, and that person is Barack Obama. He wasn't even in office long enough to help or hinder peace for anyone when it was given to him. It's clear that this once-lofty prize has become infected and tainted by the very politics and cronyism that has corrupted most other institutions. So yeah, this is a nice gesture, but it's just a token one with no real meaning.

Oh and for you more childish types who instantly polarize when Obama is mentioned, grow up. I don't care how nice and decent of a fellow he is. I don't care how much you like him. None of that has anything to do with it. He simply hadn't done anything one way or another for the cause of peace when the prize was awarded to him. There are many people who were more deserving of it than him -- heroes, scientists, doctors, philanthropists, lots of folks who have done much more good. They were all passed up. That's the point.

Re:Century

[Locke2005]

I've explained this before: the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Obama specifically for not being George W. Bush! Unfortunately, Obama has not done quite as well at not being Bush than many of us had hoped...

Re:Century

[CrimsonAvenger]

and, scientists dont get PEACE prices, fool.

Norman Borlaug, 1970.

Re:Century

[AntiBasic]

To add the superfluousness of the nobel, the irony of the 2009 recipient hosting a dinner for the man who is imprisoning the 2010 winner was lost on the populace.

They told me if I voted for McCain these things would happen.

Re:Century

[golden age villain]

What credibility? What has Wikileaks done for peace? The mention of Tunisia is ridiculous. None of what was mentioned in the cables was news to Tunisians. It was not even news for me who never really researched about the situation in Tunisia. Ben Ali's regime collapsed because he oppressed its population for 20 years and at some point people got sick of it. They did not need anyone to tell them how much the Ben Ali clan was abusing its situation and robbing the country. Plus it remains to be seen how much good this whole revolution will bring.

Re:Century

[akma]

What you have said is true. On the other hand, this latest nomination brings the award renewed credibility.

They gave it to the head of a terrorist organization: Yassir Arafat...... they have no credibility, and will never gain any until they revoke his.

Re:Century

[GigG]

If there isn't someone worthy of it don't give it. It wasn't awarded in 1914-16, '23, '24, '28, '32, '39-'43, '48, '55, '56, '66 , '67 and 72.

And as the recepient of the prize is supposed to go "to 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."

Wiki leaks certainly didn't do anything to promote fraternity between nations or reduce standing armies or even promote peace.

Re:Century

[nagnamer]

It's done far more than Barak Obama, and I believe that should qualify.

Re:Century

[chispito]

it was given to barack obama, because instead of emphasizing divisions and accumulated (rightful) anger, he chose to express a road of peace, union and collaboration in between races, and managed to successfully bring black and white together during his election campaign. it doesnt matter whether you like him or not, it doesnt matter what our political views are. this was what had happened. and, scientists dont get PEACE prices, fool.

So you're saying that he was eligible for the prize because he was a black man who got white people to vote for him? That's not peace, that's political success. Whether it has a long lasting affect on race relations in the US will remain be to be seen (I'm hopeful).

Re:Century

[dkleinsc]

The Nobel Peace Prize means absolutely nothing now. It was blatantly given to someone who had not earned it and did not deserve it, and that person is Henry Kissinger. While in office, he did very little to promote peace, and often actively promoted war. It's clear that this once-lofty prize has become infected and tainted by the very politics and cronyism that has corrupted most other institutions. So yeah, this is a nice gesture, but it's just a token one with no real meaning.

Oh and for you more childish types who instantly polarize when Kissinger is mentioned, grow up. I don't care how nice and decent of a fellow he is. I don't care how much you like him. None of that has anything to do with it. He simply hadn't done anything for the cause of peace when the prize was awarded to him. There are many people who were more deserving of it than him -- heroes, scientists, doctors, philanthropists, lots of folks who have done much more good. They were all passed up. That's the point.

Re:Century

[Martin Blank]

The touchpoint for Tunisia was not Wikileaks, but a young, college-educated man trying to earn a meager living for his family through selling vegetables from a cart because he could find no other job. He didn't have the money to pay the bribes necessary to get a permit, and the police took away his only means of earning a living. On top of the confiscation, and because he refused to pay a bribe to get the cart back, the police assaulted him and insulted his family. When he went to protest, he was ignored, so he went and got some flammable liquid, doused himself with it, and ignited it. Demonstrations started shortly after this, and the police cracked down on them, escalating the demonstration to riots. It spiraled from there.

Re:Century

[mrops]

perspective perspective perspective... I don't believe Yassir Araffat was the head of terrorist organization no more than G. W. Bush was.

I was bought up in India, and countless times in my history books I read how those who bombed the british rule and parliament were heroes, they still are today with countless statues all over the city. Today you call Arafat a terrorist, if Palestine is liberated he will go down as a hero.

Re:Century

[ToadProphet]

You forgot to mention Nelson Mandela - a 'terrorist'. Funny that you didn't bring him up.

Re:Century

[lennier]

For instance, should Truman have got one for Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

It would certainly be in the spirit of Nobel's personal contribution to world peace - better living through high explosives.

Re:Century

[grcumb]

What you have said is true. On the other hand, this latest nomination brings the award renewed credibility.

They gave it to the head of a terrorist organization: Yassir Arafat...... they have no credibility, and will never gain any until they revoke his.

Feh, Arafat was a dilettante, Henry Kissinger bombed an entire country illegally and they still gave him a Nobel Prize.

Re:Century

[paesano]

Yes, perspective, perspective. I'm sure from someone's perspective any action can be justified.

The question you should ask is when did Yassir Arafat every do anything that resulted in a lasting peace? He certainly had opportunities, but he always ended up walking away from them. A lasting peace would have made him irrelevant.

Re:Century

[TheRaven64]

Go back to that page. Find a timeline, or a list of things with dates attached. Filter them for those that have actually had an impact on world peace. Now, of those, how many happened before he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? He took office on the 20th of January, and was awarded the prize on the 10th of December, but the nominations closed on the first of February, meaning he'd been in office for less than two weeks before he was nominated and less than a year before he won.

He might deserve a Nobel Peace Prize in a few years. He got one in 2009 for not being George W Bush. Compare this 'achievement' to those of some of the previous winners, like Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Mpilo Tutu or Nelson Mandela.

Mind you, since they jointly awarded it to Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon, for deciding to take a little break from their war it's not had a great deal of credibility.

Re:Century

[Chapter80]

I've explained this before: the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Obama specifically for not being George W. Bush!

You just named the qualifications of 7 Billion people.

Where do I pick up my Nobel Peace Prize?

I second - but...

[Anonymous Coward]

...anonymously, as I am in the USA

Re:I second - but...

[beefnog]

I second, and I am openly in the USA :)

Re:I second - but...

[mosb1000]

. . . and he was never heard from again.

Re:I second - but...

[martin-boundary]

. . . and he was never heard from again.

Can I have his IPv4 address?

Just great

[Lev13than]

If Wikileaks has been nominated, does that mean the actual prize going to be won by Mark Zuckerberg?

What an ugly move to discredit wikileaks

[xophos]

Just look who got that one before.

Re:What an ugly move to discredit wikileaks

[H0p313ss]

Just look who got that one before.

2010 - LIU XIAOBO for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.

2009 - BARACK OBAMA for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

2008 - MARTTI AHTISAARI for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.

2007 - INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC) and ALBERT ARNOLD ( AL) GORE JR. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

2006 - MUHAMMAD YUNUS and GRAMEEN BANK for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.

2005 - INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY and MOHAMED ELBARADEI for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.

2004 - WANGARI MAATHAI for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace

2003 - SHIRIN EBADI for her efforts for democracy and human rights

2002 - JIMMY CARTER JR., former President of the United States of America, for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development

2001- UNITED NATIONS & KOFI ANNAN, United Nations Secretary General

2000 - KIM DAE JUNG for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular.

1999 - DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES), Brussels, Belgium.

1998 - JOHN HUME and DAVID TRIMBLE for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

1997 - INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES (ICBL) and JODY WILLIAMS for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines.

1996 - The prize was awarded jointly to: CARLOS FELIPE XIMENES BELO and JOSE RAMOS-HORTA for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.

1995 - The prize was awarded jointly to: JOSEPH ROTBLAT and to the PUGWASH CONFERENCES ON SCIENCE AND WORLD AFFAIRS for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and in the longer run to eliminate such arms.

1994 - The prize was awarded joinly to: YASSER ARAFAT , Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, President of the Palestinian National Authority. SHIMON PERES , Foreign Minister of Israel. YITZHAK RABIN , Prime Minister of Israel. for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.

1993 - The prize was awarded jointly to: NELSON MANDELA Leader of the ANC. FREDRIK WILLEM DE KLERK President of the Republic of South Africa.

1992 - RIGOBERTA MENCHU TUM, Guatemala. Campaigner for human rights, especially for indigenous peoples.

1991 - AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Burma. Oppositional leader, human rights advocate.

1990 - MIKHAIL SERGEYEVICH GORBACHEV , President of the USSR, helped to bring the Cold War to an end.

1989 - THE 14TH DALAI LAMA (TENZIN GYATSO) , Tibet. Religious and political leader of the Tibetan people.

Clearly a wretched hive of scum and villainy... if you're a conservative.

Wow

[rsborg]

I'm sure this will be suppressed somehow, but this is quite appropriate in my opinion.

Re:Wow

[commodore64_love]

>>>I'm sure this will be suppressed somehow

You mean like how China refused to let the Nobel prize winner go to his own ceremony? Maybe between now and then, the US will arrest Assange and do the same thing. That would truly be ironic.

(US acting like China).

A nonstory

[Sonny Yatsen]

In 2010, 237 nominations were made for the Peace Prize, 38 of which were organizations. While it's of some apparent interest that Wikileaks got a nomination, it is one of many and nomination is open to a lot of people.

Re:A nonstory

[martin-boundary]

Yeah, but Wikileaks stands out because they actually did something, which can't always be said for some of the previous Peace Prize recipients.

Re:A nonstory

[Duradin]

Person 1: Why did you shoot your dog?
Person 2: Someone was bitten by a rabid dog.
1: The rabid dog was in another city, that was your pet.
2: Well, at least I did something about the rabid dog problem.

Sometimes doing something isn't better than doing nothing.

In Totally Unrelated News...

[The O Rly Factor]

All members of the Nobel Committee have been apprehended by the US government, due to suspicion by the US government that they are aiding in terrorist activities.

Makes sense

[tylersoze]

Since they've already given out two Nobel Peace Prizes for "not being George W Bush" (Gore and Obama) stands to reason a third would be in order.

Man, just think how awful of a President you have to be that people get prizes for being the exact opposite of you.

Meaningless.

[BaronHethorSamedi]

The Nobel Peace Prize, according to Alfred Nobel's will, should be awarded to the person (or organization) 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."

Whatever you might think about WikiLeaks' contributions to free speech politics, government transparency, etc., it's hard to see how it's filled any of those criteria. The release of diplomatic cables arguably did a lot to damage fraternity between nations.

Of course, as others have observed, it seems to have been some time since the letter of Nobel's will has meant anything to the Peace Prize committee.

Re:Meaningless.

[vux984]

The release of diplomatic cables arguably did a lot to damage fraternity between nations.

The release of other things did a lot of good.

The release of the diplomatic cables did not end the world, and while the governments were embarrassed the actual people I think have been brought together by the frank disclosure that their leaders were being duplicitous jerks. (We all knew this all along, of course. But just putting it out in the open still makes a difference.

Re:Meaningless.

[BaronHethorSamedi]

I don't flatly disagree with any of your observations. My point is simply that "doing a lot of good," "making a difference," or even the laudable goal of holding governments to account for their actions are not a basis for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize.

I don't think even Wikileaks would suggest that their mission directly entails the reduction of standing armies, the promotion of peace congresses, or fostering fraternity between nations. Their claimed purposes have more to do, again, with transparency, free speech, and public accountability. Those are all good things, but they are not the principles on which Nobel originally wanted the prize awarded.

The fact that there is no Nobel Prize awarded for good work in advancing free speech principles does not mean the criteria for awarding an existing prize should be distorted just so we can give a shout out to some entity whose political aims we like or agree with. Unfortunately, this is more or less what the Peace Prize has become--an amorphous love letter from the Nobel Committee to whoever happens to be doing what they like at the moment.

Re:You have it backwards.

[ravenshrike]

I'd kick Thorbjorn Jagland in the balls for accepting my nomination and then allowing me to win. I'd also give the King of Sweden a wedgie.

Re:Peace?

[Americano]

Assuming your premises are all correct, Bradley Manning should be receiving the Peace Prize, since, you know, he's the one who put his ass on the line to steal those documents and expose the secrets. Without PFC Manning and people like him, Assange would just be an obnoxious misogynist with a web site.

While we're at it, let's give Random House Publishing the Nobel prize for Literature, too. That book they published this year was REALLY good!