Wangari Maathai wins Peace Prize! Props to the Nobel Committee!

Great Debates
1

Kenyan environmentalist and pro-democracy activist Wangari Maathai (whom I honestly never heard of until today) is the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace. I don’t care much about that, but look at her Wikipedia bio – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangari_Maathai:

So I think it’s a good choice. Africa is a horrible mess these days. Anybody willing to fight and to sacrifice for democracy, feminism, and eco-sustainability in an African country deserves international recognition.

Does any Doper have a problem with this choice? Anybody you’d rather see get the prize this year?

2

She is certainly A good choice, no doubt. That commitee has made many of it’s recent choices strongly weighing their liberal politics and Political Correctness. But she certainly deserves recognition.

3

Rather a pity that standards have become corrupted by lefty Scandahoovians. I mean, after Kissinger, it was all downhill, Peace Prize-wise.

4

Well, let’s look at the record. From the Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prize:

Yeh . . . definitely a PC pattern. Is that good or bad? :slight_smile:

(PaulFitzroy, feel free to weigh in at any time about the abomination of the 1994 award to Arafat! :wink: )

5

She sounds like an excellent person. Don’t know about the ‘Peace’ prize, though. It is, ofcourse, terribly PC of the commitee. Like today’s prizes being awarded for movies, documentaries and such. Very trendy.
Maybe it might have been better to do 1972 all over again this year.

Unless they read the SDMB. elucidator is a good candidate for a peace prize. :slight_smile:

6

I am pleased that environmental efforts are included under the Peace Prize now. Judging from her accomplishments, she has truly earned it the hard way.

I admire such courage and strength and just don’t understand what it is that builds it inside of such women.

7

You’re just never to get over the Bowling for Columbine Oscar, are you? :smiley:

8

I’d never heard of her either, but she deserves the award. Actions and commitments like hers need to be recognized and supported on an international level. They hurt none, and help all. Props to the Nobel committee.

9

Is she the one with some irregular opinions, on that terrible virulence: AIDS?

10

Yep.

11

And the SDMB Understatement of the Year Award goes to…sevastopol!