Elephants in Academia Monday, February 20, 2006
Cindy Sheenah nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize?
Tom Bevan at the RealClearPolitics blog reports that at an anti-Bush rally in Evanston, IL on Saturday Cindy Sheehan announced that she had been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Now this is a somewhat convoluted process, so I was surprised that Sheehan or any of her ilk would be that organized, not to mention well-connected.
Turns out that Cindy's claims to have been "nominated" because a pal of hers, Lisa McKinney, wrote a note to Jimmy Carter suggesting that he, as a former Nobel laureate, nominate her and then started up a boilerplate internet petition to support the cause. Since August, when the petition was started, they've collected a whopping 376 of their goal of 50,000 signatures--I suppose figuring that if Carter thinks 50,000 whole people are in support of something he'll immediately cave. Of course, not all those signatures appear to have come from actual Sheehan supporters--but why let a little thing like that stop you from claiming to be a nominee? It's not like anyone in the audience has any idea what the real process is. It sounds good, so what the heck...
I bet John Bolton is shaking in his boots.
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And for the record and for those of you who do not know, The Nobel Peace Committee NEVER, EVER announces who has been nominated. EVER.
Each year there are 100 to 250 nominees for each prize. Although anyone can be nominated, not anyone can nominate anyone else for a Nobel Prize. For example the website of the Nobel Foundation says that in the case of the peace prize the following people may nominate:
Members of national assemblies and governments of states
Members of international courts
University rectors
Professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology
Directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes
Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Board members of organisations who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Active and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
Former advisers appointed by the Norwegian Nobel Institute
Similar requirements are in place for the other prizes. However unlike other awards ceremonies the Nobel Prize nominees are not publicly announced and they are not supposed to be told that they were ever considered for the prize. The records are sealed for 50 years. This is done to avoid turning the awarding of the prize into a popularity contest. Due to this secrecy it is questionable whenever someone uses a Nobel nomination as a qualification (how could you check it?).
That's why they gave it to Carter.
What amazes me is that she takes it so seriously!
What she really needs to say is: I was nominated and I lost! Nobody wanted me!