I was right, and you were wrong.

I have been known to be critical of the decision to award Obama with the peace prize, but this is not about that. This is about all of the people that elected him, and the people all over the world who supported him, and how naive they were.

For a long time it has been known among my friends, that I prefer the republicans over the democrats any day. Just like I rooted for McCain (not Palin though) in this last election. People have a hard time understanding this given my political stance. I am hardly a republican, to say the least.

However, I don't trust the democrats, and I certainly don't see them as furthering my world. I don't see the real difference between the two parties in any other way than that I know where I have the republicans, and I know that people aren't fooled by them. People are certainly fooled by the democrats though.

Obama spent most of his campaign talking about change, and how he was gonna end the wars and shut down Guantanamo. And I said: "No he's not." I expected him to do just what all other democrats had done before him. Fight wars, take less international responsibility and increase military engagement abroad. And he did.

I may be a cynic, but I was correct.

Obama has not been able to shut down Guantanamo.
Obama has increased the number of troops engaged in combat to a level far above anything Bush ever did.
Obama has not set a date for withdrawal, or even clear goals for the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama has filled his cabinet with people from the Clinton administration, just like I said he would.
Obama has made no serious efforts at real diplomacy or consolidation. He has proven (with regards to Iran in particular) that diplomacy is synonymous with threats to americans. "You do as we want, or we punish you."

Like I said: I may be a cynic, but I was correct. And I want to state once and for all. You cannot trust democrats. Traditionally they have been more aggressive, less willing to take responsibility for their actions and just as arrogant as the republicans. Kennedy invaded Cuba, increased military presence in Vietnam, Clinton involved the US in more conflicts than one can count. Some of the more well known actions were: bombing Iraq every day for eight years, bombing Sudan, bombing Serbia and firing rockets into Afghanistan. (Much good that did.) The only president that has ever used nuclear weapons in a conflict was a democrat. The list goes on. And still people say that the democrats are so fantastic and humane. I don't get it.

I know, I am anarchist, and to many of you that means I should just shut up about this stuff. I will never be pleased with any president anyway. Granted, this is true. But I still predicted Obamas foreign policy better than any of you. You all believed him when he said he would shut down guantanamo or bring the troops home.

Well. He's sent more troops, and 2009 has seen more dead US troops than any year under Bush. As well as more drone attacks and further escalation of the conflict into pakistan.

I was right. You should admit it. And I get to say:

I TOLD YOU SO!

The Norwegian Nobel Comitee

This year's nobel peace prize went to Barack Obama, as you all know by now. I personally find this odd, mildly put. But this continues a tradition of, what I and others see as using the peace prize as a foreign policy tool on behalf of Norway. Increasingly this also extends to attempts at influencing US policies in several different fields.

In a way this started just after George W. Bush was elected, when former president Jimmy Carter was awarded the prize in 2002. At the time many observers were critical and saw the prize as a comment on the militaristic policies of the Bush administration. (In extension you can also see it as a criticism of american politics in the entire Reagen-era, which extends into the first and second Bush administrations.)
Then of course there was Al Gore, in 2007. Gore of course ran against Bush in 2000, and lost (despite getting more votes). It doesn't take a genius to see that this could be interpreted as a direct criticism of Bush. Especially his environmental polices.
Yesterday it was announced that Bush's succesor Barack Obama is this years winner. Apparantly he was nominated after 11 days in office, which indicates to me that his main award winning effort was winning the presidency.

I find this pattern striking, and very slanted towards a certain political party in the states, whose popularity in Norway is marked by massive support every four years when there is an election over there. Hardly any norwegian politican would even consider throwing his support for the republican candidate. Norwegians even seem to suffer from the misguided notion that the democrats are some sort of social democratic party. Considering that the democrats are to the right of the norwegian conservative party on most issues, this notion is simply amusing.

Anway, let's take a look at the people awarding the prize, and the picture will become even clearer. (Do also remember that the member's are chosen by the norwegian parliament itself.)
The leader of the commitee is a Thorbjørn Jagland, a former politican for the norwegian labour party. In fact, he is a former prime minister, former leader of Labour, former minister of foreign affairs and so forth. Today, the day after voting on the nobel peace prize he is also set to take the chair as secretary general of the Council of Europe. Hardly a neutral observer.
The next member of the commitee is Kaci K. Five. She is the former leader of the consercative party in Norway. Another former politican, who served several terms in the norwegian parliament, where she was a member of the committee on foreign affairs.
Then there is Sissel Rønbeck. Another former politican, and this one also a labour politician, with three terms in the norwegian parliament and two years as leader of the Labour party's youth movement.
The fourth member is the least conspicous one, having only served a single term in the parliament, for the ultra right wing progressive party. Still, another politican.
The fifth, and last member more than compensates however. Ågot Valle having served three terms for the socialist left party, as a member of the foreign affairs committee for two of these.
Among the three stand in members of the committee, we find a former minister of foreign affairs (who also served as ambassador to the United states for six years), and two former parliamentary politicans.

With such close ties to official norwegian political life I guess it would be safe to say that the prize is not beyond criticism. In fact I would go as far as saying that it seriously detracts from the prize's legitimacy and credibility. This year's award of course marking the apex in a string of obviously political awards. It is saddening to see how Alfred Nobel's original intention has been hijacked by state interests.

And now I'm not even touching the important subject of whether this year's laureate actually deserves the prize. That is a whole other blog, and a rather lengthy one at that. But shortly put: when your police uses rubber bullets against peaceful protesters, you don't deserve an award, you deserve to be deposed.

Pittsburgh 2009

I am wondering. These two specific politicans were voted into office on policies guaranteeing better conditions for human rights, more democracy and so forth and so forth. In direct opposition of what the world saw as evil regimes in fact.

And here they are, standing next to each other at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, USA. A shining beacon of democracy, and the streets are filled with thousands of police in darth-vader-gear. Rubber bullets are flying through the air, tear gas slowly drifting down the streets, protesters arrested and put in unmarked cars by people in military uniforms, students being beaten and street dances broken up. Kinda looks a bit like China all of the sudden, doesn't it? In all this I can't help thinking of the lyrics for the Who's Won't get fooled again. "Meet the new boss, same as the old one".

Boy, you sure got fooled again didn't you?
And it won't be the last time.

The police and politicans are here to protect and serve the rich, not you.