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John Kerry did not start the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program; but, as National Journal's George Condon notes, nobody has thrown himself more into the talks and nobody's reputation has more riding on their outcome than the American secretary of State currently trying to hammer out a deal in Switzerland. Even if he is able to claim success, Kerry—again—may not get the payoff he'd like. Given the complexity of the negotiations, the opposition of Israel's government, and the critics in Congress, the verdict almost certainly will be mixed. "If these talks succeed, that is going to be his...

“No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again.” – Bob Parr, in The Incredibles. Look, I know the world is falling apart. I too am fearful of the terms Jean Carré will “negotiate” with Iran in order to win his Nobel Peace Prize. Supposedly that’s a medal he’ll keepAnd sure I find it a little unnerving that the Saudis and Egyptians are forming a joint Arab army to fight WWIII against – oh, I don’t know…us, maybe? And yes, I realize it may all depend on the outcome of Jean...

resident Barack Obama belatedly gave a high five to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud Party won a decisive victory in last week’s elections. But like a lot of things Obama “accomplishes” this one comes with the familiar Barackian asterisk: Obama didn’t mean to give Netanyahu props; instead Obama thought he was criticizing the prime minister. “I indicated to him that given his statements prior to the election, it is going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing that negotiations [with the Palestinians] are possible,” said Obama according to the New York Times. His...

Everyone says President Obama is a feckless commander, weak in statecraft, especially compared to the great leaders of the Western world, such as Reagan and Churchill. I believe this does Obama a great injustice. It's so easy to react the way a great leader would. Sure, Obama could have left a small contingent of American troops in Iraq, preserved America's victory, and prevented the entire region from collapsing into chaos and terror. He could have refrained from issuing empty "red line" threats to Syria. He could call ISIS "Islamic." But anybody could do that -- even ISIS calls itself "Islamic."...

resident Obama has engaged in military actions around the world as much as any other president. Since receiving the Nobel Peace Prize shortly after entering office, he has proven himself as aggressive as the most hawkish Republican president in history. This comes as no surprise in hindsight; when Obama was first running for president, he indicated he would bomb Pakistan, which even most Republicans opposed. By April 2012, The New York Times was calling Obama “warrior in chief,” saying he “has turned out to be one of the most militarily aggressive American leaders in decades.” Law professor Jonathan Turley, considered...

Back in 2009, just months after his swearing in, president Barack Obama was crowned with an unexpected glory: he won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 due to "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Back then there was little indication that just a few years after his crowning achievement of "ending the war" in and returning US troops from Iraq, he would send US troops right back in Iraq for the 3rd US invasion of the country in three decades, but also send out US troops across the globe, and launch the second cold war,...

UPDATE 3:11 P.M.: Copenhaver has also opposed the Pledge of Allegiance because it was “developed by Francis Bellamy, a socialist” as a way to “sell more issues of [the] magazine Youth’s Companion.” “The pledge was conceived as a way to promote nationalism in order to sell flags to schools as a premium to solicit subscriptions,” says an image she posted to her Facebook page. “I posted a picture and story explaining this when I first started my page but this sums it up beautifully,” wrote Copenhaver. In another post, she wrote, “The pledge of allegiance and the ‘roman salute’ was...

OSLO, Norway – Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for risking their lives to fight for children's rights.

In a nod to the efforts to protect children, the Nobel Prize committee awarded its Peace Prize to two activists focused on the defense of children’s rights — Malala Yousefzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India. The committee had reportedly had considered Pope Francis, Edward Snowden, and a handful of others as the most prominent of this year’s record 278 nominees: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is to be awarded to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right...

The Nobel committee in charge of awarding the peace prize chose two non-controversial and politically correct recipients who have worked tirelessly for child rights around the world. Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, the 17 year old who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting the right of Pakistani girls to attend school, were named to receive the prestigious award. Yousafzai is the youngest peace prize winner in history. There were probably more deserving candidates, although the fact that peace in the world is decidedly lacking at the moment could have affected the choice....

Nobel Prizes continue to be announced this week, and according to a new Rasmussen poll, Americans are both skeptical about how winners are chosen and continue to question President Obama’s Peace Prize win back in 2009. Rasmussen Reports has the details: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of American Adults think politics play a role in the awarding of Nobel Prizes. Just 17% disagree, but 30% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)Fifty-five percent (55%) of adults say that, six years into his presidency, President Obama still does not deserve the prize that he won...

They don't hand out master's degrees in revisionist history, but if they did, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman might deserve one. Obama is mired in a geopolitical mess of his own making, from the Ukraine to the ISIS menace, yet Friedman's decided to argue that Obama shouldn't be harshly judged. His era is much more complicated than Reagan's, you see. "I'll leave it to historians to figure out years from now who was the better president," he claimed. Reagan's era was defined by a capitalist-communist competition between "two organized superpowers," while Obama's era centers on a puzzling conflict "between...

The U.S. today began bombing targets inside Syria, in concert with its lovely and inspiring group of five allied regimes: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. That means that Syria becomes the 7th predominantly Muslim country bombed by the 2009 Nobel Peace Laureate – after Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Iraq.

No link now, they are just announcing it now.

Snowden has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and several have argued that he should get it this year. Currently, he has been granted asylum in Russia, but the United States wants him to be arrested and extradited. Dagbladet has asked Conservative Party (Høyre) politician Tetzschner whether the Norwegian police may arrest a person coming to the country to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The parliamentary representative believes Norwegian police can and should arrest Snowden. - In principle, we care principle of equality. In addition, Norway honor the agreements we have signed, which also ensures extradition to Norway, he...

Intolerance that fosters pogroms abroad is taking root in U.S. communities. Sobering and unforgettable images are projected across our television and computer screens. They should elicit the most basic instincts of both fear and compassion. I'm referring to images of showing the persecution of hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of our fellow brothers and sisters by incomprehensible religious zealots. Their intolerance of Christianity is beyond horrible. People are beheaded for their faith. Women and young girls are sexually violated, and whole families are wantonly slaughtered in cold blood. Perhaps just as abhorrent is the profound silence of the...

I have to claim responsibility for the newest parody that’s now starring as president of the United States on TVs everywhere. If ever there were a Steven Colbert character assigned to play a faux president, Obama would get the nod. You see: he’s been nominated for an Emmy now. In a comedy, playing himself, in a tragedy. Seriously. His own incompetence has led to an Emmy nomination. And it’s my fault. When Obama visited Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame in May, ostensibly to promote tourism, I suggested with mock fawning that they should induct him into the HOF as the...

Obama camp angry, embarrassed over 2009 Nobel Prize: official The Associated Press Posted: May 15, 2014 5:24 PM ET Last Updated: May 15, 2014 5:24 PM ET A senior Norwegian diplomat says his country's former ambassador to the United States was given a verbal lashing by Barack Obama's chief of staff when the president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. Morten Wetland said Thursday the ambassador, Wegger Stroemmen, was approached by Rahm Emanuel, now Chicago's mayor, who accused Norway of "fawning" to the newly elected U.S. leader. Wetland, the Norwegian ambassador to the United Nations at the time,...

It was just gag gift. A joke. That Nobel Peace prize that the Norwegians, on behalf of the Swedes gave Barack Obama. I always found it ironic that the guy who was a major weapons manufacturer and inventor of dynamite would put up a prize for peace to begin with. But at least he tried to make amends for being known as a merchant of death. Not so with Barack Obama. As wars break out all over the world, our weakest man is stuck saying what he always says: “Who? Me?” This is the same man who so quickly returned...

CBS/ReutersMarch 5, 2014, 11:01 AM Vladimir Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize OSLO -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize but the conflict in Ukraine is also likely to be on the Nobel committee's agenda. A record 278 candidates, including 47 organizations, received nominations for the 2014 prize, said the Norwegian Nobel Institute's director, Geir Lundestad. Committee members who met on Tuesday added their own proposals with a focus on recent turmoil around the globe. "Part of the purpose of the committee's first meeting is to take into account recent events, and committee...