Barack Obama Gets Peace Award

The Nobel Peace Award : 

The Nobel Peace Award When Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896, it was discovered that he had left a will, dated November 27, 1895, according to which most of his vast wealth was to be used for five prizes, including one for peace. The prize for peace was to be awarded 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 of peace congresses.“ The other US Presidents to have shared this esteemed honor are Theodore Roosevelt(1906), Woodrow Wilson(1919) and Jimmy Carter(2002).

About Barack : 

About Barack Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama's presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009.

About Barack : 

About Barack He is bi-racial. He was born to a Kenyan father and a white American mother. In his book Dreams From My Father he writes that he barely noticed the racial difference between his mum and dad in his young age. He experimented with drugs. Back in his early years he tried marijuana and cocaine. According to his own words he is not proud of it and considers it a mistake as a young man. Obama once said the three men he admired the most were Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Policies : 

Policies 1. Health Care: he appropriated $19 billion in the stimulus package to help implement an electronic medical record system. 2. Communications: A presidential campaign built on innovative messaging and advanced technology has, naturally, become a White House defined by similar characteristics. As such, the reach of the administration's new media efforts - from hosting online question-and-answer sessions with the president to publishing the first White House blog - has been as expected, appreciated. 3. Transportation: Since the passage of the economic stimulus package in mid-February, the Obama Department of Transportation has approved 2,500 highway projects. The movement of stimulus money out the door has been as swift as it has been effective: $9.3 billion has been spent in all 50 states. Touting its impact, DOT officials say 260,000 jobs are expected from this investment. 4. Education: Maligned for its handling of the financial and banking crises, the Obama Treasury Department has nevertheless implemented policies with real qualitative and quantitative impact on debt-burdened families.

Policies regarding war and peace. : 

Policies regarding war and peace. The Iraq War: Obama declared that combat operations would end in Iraq within 18 months He intends to call back the existing force of a 142,000 troops while leaving behind transitional force of 35,000 to 50,000 in Iraq until the end of 2011. The Afghanistan War: Obama moved to bolster U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan. He announced an increase to U.S. troop levels of 17,000 in February 2009. He said that the area had not received the "strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires.“ On a December 1, 2009, Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan. He also proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date.

The Award : 

The Award The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to U.S. President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.“ The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a "new climate" in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world. The Committee issued a statement saying that, “We have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do," noting that he hoped the award would assist Obama's foreign policy efforts.

The Award : 

The Award While Accepting the Award in a 36-minute speech, President Obama discussed the tensions between war and peace and the idea of a "just war". In all, there were 205 nominations for the 2009 award from all walks of life. These included civil rights activists in China and Afghanistan and African politicians. Chinese dissident Hu Jia and Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai had been speculated to be favorites for the award.

Initial reactions : 

Initial reactions Of Obama Obama said he was "surprised" and "deeply humbled" by the award. He stated that he does not feel he deserved the award, and that he did not feel worthy of the company the award would place him in. "Throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes," Obama said. "And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.“ The award, he said, "must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity — for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon her commitment to democracy; for the soldier who sacrificed through tour after tour of duty on behalf of someone half a world away; and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometime their lives for the cause of peace."

Initial reactions : 

Initial reactions Of the World The entire world gave mixed reactions to the Announcement. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (winner 1990), gave his congratulations. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, (1984), said the award to Obama "anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all.“ In Latin America, Fidel Castro, Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and former President, called the award "positive" and said the prize should be seen as a criticism to the "genocidal policy" carried out by past U.S. presidents. Indian President Pratibha Patil sent a congratulatory message to Obama. There was widespread criticism of the Nobel Committee's decision from commentators and editorial writers across the political spectrum. John Miller of the National Review stated that “Obama isn’t the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but he’s the first to win it without having accomplished anything.” Mickey Kaus of the Slate stated that “Turn it down! Politely decline. Say he’s honored but he hasn’t had the time yet to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.” And last but not the least the Taliban issued a statement , “We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan.”

Reaction of Indian People : 

Reaction of Indian People Where on one hand the complete world is giving some or the other opinion about Obama wining the Nobel Peace Prize, We have a different scenario in India Most of the people are not aware of the event. When asked about their opinion they’re clueless about the work he has done and couldn’t form any firm opinion. Here are a few video clippings we took in Mumbai from all literate strata of the society and these are their reviews

Conclusion : 

Conclusion According to many Obama doesn't deserve a Noble Peace because he just hasn’t done anything. Some people have an opinion that what he has done was the only way to bring Peace. After receiving this information, we can make a conclusion that no matter whether Obama deserves a Nobel Peace or not, it hasn’t affected the lives of common people. Now it’s on You how to take it…

Bibliography : 

Bibliography Text: Wikipedia – web based encyclopedia The Plumline- web Forum www.answers.com – web Forum BBC Archives- Web Database Videos: Taken at Bangur Nagar, Goregaon. Special Thanks to: Sujeet Sharma Saurav Purohit Pawan Shetty Pawan R. Vijay Moca Sandeep Mani Aditya Krishnan Lesley D’ souza Pushkar Patil

Our Team : 

Our Team Vivian Chettiar | 107 Shraddha M. | 123 Onkar Mhaskar | 129 Sohil Nikam | 137 Mayuresh Pattanshetty | 140 Saiprasad Pawar | 142