Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize...you must be kidding

I can't even to begin to describe how confused I am right now about the nomination of Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize. If you have not read my post from yesterday, please go read it before continuing this post (it is two posts below this). How can the same person be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize? Now, I want to point out right from the start that I realize that this is not Obama's fault; he was nominated for the prize, he did not actively pursue it. I personally like Obama, and think he is and will continue to be a good president for our country. The point is, Obama has not done nearly enough at this point to deserve this prize.

I wish the Nobel committee would have thought about the ramifications of giving this award to Obama. This will surely cause a media storm from the right attacking Obama, when in reality he had no power over the committees decision. All this will do is polarize the country even more than it already is. I can't imagine much good will come from this.

President Obama, do the right thing and reject the award and continue to work towards peace knowing the weight you now carry.

What Obama should do with his Nobel Peace Prize

Peace and love.

William Kamkwamba

If you have haven't seen this man yet, which would be hard with articles in multiple news websites about him and an appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", you need to check this out. His is one of the more inspirational stories I have heard in a very long time. I leave it up to you to find out more if you want to, I just wanted to point this out and point you in his direction. Here is his website below:

William Kamkwamba

Peace and love.

Obama "delays" meeting with the Dalai Lama

Interesting news out of Washington today...apparently President Obama has "delayed" a meeting with a Dalai Lama who is in Washington, D.C. this week. Now the White House claims that there was no meeting scheduled with the president and that Obama "would like to see him in December." Hmm, smell something fishy? Looks like once again the US is getting cozy with governments who are in so many ways against what we claim to be proponents of, mainly human rights issues. We would rather pacify the Chinese than actually take a stand for what we believe in. The Dalai Lama, more than anyone else in the world right now, stands for peace and justice. He has fought for a return of Tibetan land to it's rightful owners the Tibetan people; all done with a love for not only his own people, but for humanity as a whole. No matter what you do or don't believe spiritually, you cannot deny that the world would be a much better place if we all learned to love peace and justice like the Dalai Lama.

This is extremely disconcerting for an administration who has claimed to stand for human rights. I'm starting to doubt this "hope" and "change" that was supposed to inevitably follow Obama taking office. President Obama: How about for a change you stand up for the things I think you truly believe in and start doing the right thing, even if that means angering the Chinese government. How about we show the rest of the world that America is truly what we all should want it to be: a country that proclaims and protects the rights of all humans, everywhere.

Rep. Frank Wolf said it best: "I call on the president to stand side-by-side with His Holiness, a man of peace, and align America once again with the oppressed, not the oppressors,"



If you would like to read more on this story read the following articles from the Washington Post.

Obama's Meeting with the Dalai Lama is Delayed

Dalai Lama Set Aside by Obama, Honored at US Capitol

Dalai Lama Receives Rights Award at Capitol

Peace and love.

Vietnam

Well it's official friends...I have been to the most beautiful place on earth. Where might you ask? Halong Bay, Vietnam. Halong Bay lies just off the coast of Northern Vietnam. It is a collection of mostly inaccessible limestone islands (1,969 according to our local guide). Two friends and I went there for about two and a half days. We took a two day, one night private boat trip out into the bay in which we independently kayaked throughout the bay, ate fresh seafood for every meal, and just enjoyed being in the bay. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the nominees for the New 7 Wonders of the World. It was an amazing few days with landscape that will be very hard to top in my mind.

After Halong, we spent a day and a half in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi has a very cool feel to it as it has a lot of Chinese influence mixed with Vietnamese culture. We stayed in the "Old Quarter" of Hanoi which has one of the strongest and most prominent Chinese influences. We visited a Confucius university which was started in the 11th century. While classes have stopped at the university, the continue to hold graduations of other area universities on the grounds. Hanoi is definitely a city I wish I could spend more time in, and hope to go back to one day.

Vietnam is a very intriguing place for someone from the West. Even though it has a communist government, it runs it's economy under a more capitalist mindset (much like China). This has led to a surge in the economy of Vietnam in the past few years. You have amazing juxtapositions of people harvesting rice patties while in the shade of giant billboards advertising many different products (we actually saw this on the way to the airport). The most exciting, chaotic, and sometime terrifying part of being in Vietnam is the traffic. I have never been anywhere with such crazy traffic (and remember that I have been to three African countries). EVERYONE who lives in or near cities owns a motorbike. Cars are very expensive, so motorbikes are the main form of transportation. I had the privileged of being able to drive a motorbike for a day while I was there and it was quite an experience! All in all, it was a great little vacation. If you would like to see some pictures from the trip you can follow this link to an album I have posted on facebook.

Peace and love.