breaking news

[lagilman]

for anyone who somehow managed to avoid a newspaper or news outlet this morning:
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to former Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

No, I don't think this is going to convince him to run for president, either.

EtA: You know, when you consider the decade this guy has had... from the highs to the lows to the highs again, it's either inspiring as hell or depressing as hell, and I'm not sure which. Probably both. Depressing because, well, so much bad can happen so fast, and so much out of your control. But inspiring because hell, the guy came back from getting whomped in the public arena to not only be in a (IMO) better position, but with his self respect intact and shiny. And he did it by following what he believed in, no matter what other people said or did.

Bastard exhausts me, just looking at him.


And now I need coffee, and to get to work. I'm thisclose to hauling out the "bigger boat" icon.

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

SF author Doris Lessing also won a Nobel Prize (http://shsilver.livejournal.com/540630.html).

[lagilman]

and had a lovely response to it, to wit "oh, speeches and flowers, that will be nice, go pester someone who cares." There's a woman with her reality-hat set on refreshingly straight.

[greeneyedkzin.livejournal.com]

Jimmy Carter had to be president, then get his Nobel. Gore didn't have to AND he got an Oscar.

If I were he, I'd stay where I was.

[jodi-davis.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be a refreshing awesomeness to see him just take the nomination without running and spending all that money - it'd be like a movie election.

And since I'm crazy dreaming - I'll take Kucinich as VP.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

At this point, I honestly don't think he needs to anymore.

[lagilman]

HE doesn't need to, no. But we might need HIM.

(I'm of the personal opinion that anyone who WANTS public office badly enough to run for it unsolicited probably isn't someone I want IN office. And I include Bill Clinton in that, despite the fact that I think he'll be judged one of the good'uns, in the long run)

Al Gore

[sci-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

Hi, LAG - it's LoisG (yes, I finally migrated to LJ late last week).

Al Gore - okay, I was shocked that a Nobel was given to a politician who made a documentary. I tend to think of Nobel Prizes as awards given to brilliant scientists who have spent their lives discovering something like the quark, to remarkable leaders who have spent their lives bringing their countries and their people out of warfare, poverty, and disease, etc. I suspect Gore's Nobel was given for purely political reasons, which imho taints the prize a bit.

Good point that so much can happen so fast, all of it out of your control. Gore's return in a different arena speaks well for him, though his luck with the documentary and the Nobel is probably due in large part (again, imho) to his PR people.

Why did Gore win a Nobel rather than, say, Jimmy Carter with his housing project?

Re: Al Gore

[lagilman]

hi Lois!

The thing that people are forgetting is that Gore didn't win the Nobel prize -- the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, plus Al Gore, either as part of or as affilate with, won the prize. So while I'm sure there were political considerations, there was also a feeling of "contributing to the general well-being of the world by shouting 'FIRE!' louder than the people insisting that smoke was just an optical illusion, no matter whose voice they used to do the shouting.

And Jimmy Carter already won a Nobel peace prize. I'm not sure how many times you're allowed to be brought up for consideration....

Re: Al Gore

[sci-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize that Carter already won a Nobel peace prize. As for Gore, he certainly grabbed all the headlines and photo ops related to his " committee's ' Nobel.

Writer, Not-Editor, Tired Sci O'Biscuit