Monday, May 14, 2018

Nobels Are For Noble People


Residents of the Right Wing Looney Bin -- like Nigel Farage -- are trumpeting the suggestion that Donald Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Michael Harris writes:

You know Farage. He’s the bloviating bigot who served as “the racist shitetrump” of the United Kingdom Independence Party, according to one Twitter wit.
Of course, UKIP is the political party that led Britain out of the European Union to save it from immigrant hordes — only to have its leader resign more or less immediately after the deed was done. And before the multiple lies he told about the benefits of Brexit could be exposed.

Apparently, some people think Trump will bring peace to the Korean peninsula. But, if the North and the South bury the hatchet, others will be the peacemakers:

As for the formal ending of the Korean War, if there is a prize there, it is to be shared by Kim and South Korean leader Moon Jae-in, who did the heavy lifting with the North. The real issue from Trump’s standpoint is North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.
Trump’s demands on Kim are fraught with hypocrisy. While the president harrumphs about other countries shedding their nukes, he is heavily investing in a new generation of super weapons for America’s nuclear arsenal. That has touched off a news arms race with Russia.

Moreover, Trump's walking away from the Iran nuclear deal does not presage peace:

The president “vandalized” a deal that brought Iran’s nuclear program to a verifiable halt. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency and Trump’s own intelligence community confirmed that Iran was in compliance with the deal.
It is an agreement that America’s key allies, the U.K., France and Germany negotiated in good faith and stand by. By comparison, America’s word is worth about the same now as a degree from Trump University. Nada.

And, finally, as the American Embassy opens in Jerusalem today, Trump has made peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis impossible:

Trump is moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as Israel’s capital. The rest of the world and international law recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory.
As a result of Trump’s decision, the Palestinian leadership refused to meet with Vice-President Mike Pence, that human limpet permanently attached to Trump’s backside.
And why would they?
The status of Jerusalem was a crucial part of talks toward a final agreement for a two-state solution. With the embassy move, Trump endorsed the Israeli position on a crucial matter before the matter was negotiated.
Claims that this ostentatious nod to Israel does not prejudice the status of Jerusalem in any future talks with the Palestinians are simply nonsensical. Dealing from the bottom of the deck is what it is.

Donald Trump has been dealing from the bottom of the deck all his life. He is many things. But he's not noble. And Nobels should be given to noble people.

Image: MercatorNet

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Noble people like unindicted war criminal Henry Kissinger; terrorists Menachem Begin, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Perez and Yitzhak Rabin; fraud artist Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu; and Barack Obama who hasn't been in office long enough to do anything?

Cap

Owen Gray said...

I freely admit that there are ignoble people who have received the prize, Cap. On the other hand, winners like Lester Pearson and Jimmy Carter were genuine peacemakers. Kissinger's, Begin's and Arafat's contributions have long since been discounted. There must be some regard for work that appreciates with time.

the salamander said...

.. I suspect El Trumpo and all around him are depreciating
kind of like the Hindenburg ..
I suspect they are equally flammable
or may spontaneously combust
Serial lying, fraud, marital cheating with pornstars
collusion and tweeting with name calling, extreme vanity
are hardly positive endorsement or appreciating over time..
and that just some highlights

Owen Gray said...

One of Charles Dickens' most famous villains was Old Krook from Bleak House, Sal. He was like racid meat or rotting hay. One night he burst into flame spontaneously. It was an elegant ending for a perfectly detestable man. Unfortunately, it only happens in a fictitous world.