Think about it. If not Obama then who?

I don't know of anyone on the world stage who has received such warm acceptance globally than President Obama. He connects with more than Americans, his quest for peace in the future is calming to the world, his intellect is a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure how the Afghanistan situation will end but Obama again has been stuck with cleaning up George W. Bush's mess.

Recall the night of our election, the world's response. I can think of no one who has revved up and gave hope to so many than President Obama. Congratulations sir. Very well deserved.

But its really really sad that my first thought when I heard was "oh my god, the right is going to lose their collective minds!!"

It seems the only joy in their lives comes from failure or hope of failure.

watch their heads explode.

:rofl:

;)

He had joined the Red Guards as a sixteen-year-old student during the Cultural Revolution. When Deng Xiaoping came to power and repudiated the Cultural Revolution, Wei Jingsheng, then a twenty-eight-year-old electrician in Beijing's Zoo, attacked the dictatorship of the Communist Party of China, becoming one of the first few daring to denounce Deng and his will to maintain a dictatorship in China. Wei's and others' public dissent worried Deng who was anxious to consolidate his power. Apart from the Fifth Modernization ("第五个现代化") authorship, Wei Jingsheng is known for his editorial work in a short-lived magazine Exploration (《探索》) in 1979.

Wei Jingsheng was arrested March 29, 1979 for "Passing military secrets", and was condemned to 15 years of prison.<1> He had also published a letter under his name in March 1979 denouncing the inhuman conditions of the Chinese Qincheng Prison, where the 10th Panchen Lama was imprisoned.<2> However, a major part of Wei's essay came from other anonymous authors with personal experiences involving Qincheng. Those parts were published by Wei without their consent. Mary Holzman declared that Wei completed his research and wrote his essay of investigative journalism within a week,<3> which makes it highly doubtful that Wei wrote the essay himself, as he simply did not have the factual knowledge present in the text.

Although they could not bring any formal charges against him for his attacks on the Communist system, the government exaggerated Wei's correspondence with foreigners about the Chinese-Vietnamese War and charged him with treason. He stayed in prison until 14 September 1993, when he was released because the PRC wanted to show their new openness before the International Olympic Committee. The Olympics were a huge event for Chinese nationalism and when they lost their bid to Sydney, Australia, the country was deflated. Wei, once again looked at as a scapegoat, was thrown in jail once more after China lost the Olympic bid. Charged with plotting against the state he was to remain in jail until November 16, 1997, when he was released for "medical reasons" and promptly deported to the United States. He was sent to the United States due to international pressure, especially the request by then US President Bill Clinton.

Dissidents who are widely known in the West, such as Wei Jingsheng, Fang Lizhi, and Wang Dan are typically deported when the Chinese government is really under pressure. Although Chinese criminal law does not contain any provisions for exiling citizens, it is carried out informally by giving these well known dissidents a severe jail sentence and subsequently granting medical parole before sending them out in exile.

In 1996, Wei Jingsheng was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. He is a winner of numerous other human rights and democracy awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1996, the National Endowment for Democracy Award in 1997, the Olof Palme Memorial Prize in 1994, and the International Activist Award by the Gleitsman Foundation, etc. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy by the Europe-based magazine A Different View.<4> He has been praised in numerous places with titles such as "Father of Chinese Democracy" and "Nelson Mandela of China". Thousands of entries about him can be found on the Internet in various languages.

Besides the well publicized essay he wrote in 1978, the Fifth Modernization, he is the author of "Courage to Stand Alone -- letters from Prison and Other Writings", which compiles his articles written initially on toilet paper in jail. He has weekly commentary on Radio Free Asia, and many other news media.

From his prison, Wei Jingsheng wrote to Deng Xiaoping many letters that were smuggled out secretly and published.<5> Hence, in 1992, he wrote a long letter about Tibet, which questioned the suzerainty of the Qing Dynasty over Tibet. He believed Tibet should become a part of India.

If anyone deserves it for a lifetime body of work, it is this man. Don't get me wrong, I love Obama - but it is far to early for this award. Hopes and dreams are great, but I'd rather a loaf of bread with a jar of peanut butter and jelly than a dream of a 7 course meal.

is probably a good place to start

Sometimes the award itself is a useful way to introduce great people to the world and acknowledge little known works, sometimes it is given as a way to encourage the winner to continue the track they are on-the award is given to groups and organizations as well as to individuals.
So there are always others who deserve the lauding, but the President also deserves it, he has gone out of his way and put great thought and effort into improving our diplomatic standing, and his personal skills are very useful in that regard. I object to those who are saying this is a message to W, it is not about him at all, it is about Barack Obama and the nation that elected him to speak for us. I also understand but object to those who are talking about the fact that we do not have peace. The Prize is about attempts to make peace. About encouraging peace over war. One does not have to be a Saint to get one, nor does one have to have ended all world conflict. Several awards have gone to those who have tried to improve things in the Israeli Palestinian conflicts while clearly those problems continue. The Prize is also not a statement of political agreement as it has been awarded to opposite sides such as to Arafat and Perez, the committee probably did not 'agree' with either side, but seemed to approve of the efforts toward peaceful resolutions, even it the efforts had not made for final result.
I think the award of the prize to the President is fitting and proper, and very much in line with how the Prize is awarded and why the Prize is awarded.
So congratulations to President Obama.

All major world leaders are looking to him to provide the much needed diplomacy....with Iran, North Korea, etc.