Comments

3 Responses to “Still Negative Double Digits: Disapproval of Obama Continues, Despite Nobel Peace Prize — Steven Crowder Weighs in with Funny Peace Prize Rap Video”

1. Presidential priorities. Olympics for Chicago – hell yes, gotta go! Berlin’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall – Nah! I think Bo has a vet appointment. « Ztower says:

   October 17, 2009 at 11:29 AM

   [...] “Obama’s Foreign Policy Summarized” – Frugal Cafe Blog Zone … “Still Negative Double Digits: Disapproval of Obama Continues, Despite Nobel Peace Prize — Steven C…“ Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)1989-2009: Fall of Berlin Wall 20th [...]
2. AFVET says:

   October 17, 2009 at 11:34 AM

   Too much, too fast, no experience.

   The world leaders are saying the same thing.
   They saw this coming.

   His campaign is over, he is the President of the U.S. and he should fix the economy of this country before he does anything else.
   That should be his first priority, however his socialistic policies demand that he demean the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to the E.U’s level of “outstanding world leadership”.

   Disgusting to say the least.

   Won’t be long until Obama realizes he’s in way over his head, then we’ll all see what he does then.
3. Jose Martinez says:

   October 17, 2009 at 1:05 PM

   President Obama should donate his Nobel Peace Prize funds to the U.S. government to pay for his two Scandanavian trips: 1. Copenhagen for his failing bid to push the Olympic games there and 2. To pick up Nobel Peace Prize funds. Each trip cost the U.S. taxpayer about $ 920,000 for Air Force One, security etc.

   And there is the issue of how the Nobel foundation funds invested in Swedish armament industry and in weapons of mass destruction. Although the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five Norwegians from the Norway Storting (Parliment), they Nobel funds are kept in Sweden, where Alfred Nobel was from. Sweden is the worlds largest exporter of arms (per capita), followed by Israel.

   1. Originally the directive from Alfred Nobel was to place the funds in real estate or similar safe investments, however since 1953 the foundation was allowed by the Swedish government to invest in shares, which stopped the hither to depletion of the funds.

   2. The funds are at the moment approx US$ 500 million in total (it shrunk approx 20% last year).

   3. The management is not done by the foundation itself, it is split across several (about ten) portfolios managed by different asset managers in Sweden and other countri es, the spread across countries and by asset type can be found here: http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/finan-manag.html

   4. As late as 2005, there is an explicit admission from the foundation that there are NO ethical guidelines issued to the asset managers:

   http://www.dagsavisen.no/innenriks/article256458.ece?service=articlePrint – in Norwegian)

   5.There have been several ’scandals’ surrounding the asset management, presumably deriving from the lack of ethical guidelines from the Nobel foundation

   - In 1998, the Observer made an investigation into the investments and found that many of the world largest arms manufactureres (including Boeing, British Aerospace, GKN och Smiths Industries) were in the Nobel foundation portfolios

   - in 2005, a Norwegian organization ‘Norwatch’ looked specifically into the portfolio handled by a US firm group called T Rowe Price who in their general portfolios have manufacturers of both cluster bombs and atomic bombs (Lockheed Martin). The Nobel foundation did not exclude the possibility that their funds were invested in such shares

   6. it is probable that such investments are held in the the Bofor group, which has a high level chemical plant in Ifshahan, Iran, which manufactures TNT, and quite likely sophisticated chemical precursors used to help create nuclear enriched uranium.

   However, dynamite and related products was the original invention and=2 0business which gave Alfred Nobel the means to set up the prize in the first place, and he was the owner of Bofors from 1894-96, during which he “had the key role in reshaping the iron manufacturer to a modern cannon manufacturer (…)” : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors

   No doubt the prestige of the prize to a large degree derives from the large sums involved, but is therefore also stained by the way the money was and is procured.

   But the prestige also derives from Alfred Nobels testamentary wish to promote peace and international understanding.

   The paradox the funds for the Nobel Prize are invested and retained in funds related to armament productions and weapons of mass destruction and many people are unaware of this situation.