Obama gets a letter

Twelve winners of the Nobel Peace Prize wrote a letter to Obama, urging him to release a full report on America's use of torture. These folks won their Peace Prizes by actually, you know, doing something peaceful. Here's a paragraph from that letter:

"In recent decades, by accepting the flagrant use of torture and other violations of international law in the name of combating terrorism, American leaders have eroded the very freedoms and rights that generations of their young gave their lives to defend," they said. "They have again set an example that will be followed by others; only now, it is one that will be used to justify the use of torture by regimes around the world, including against American soldiers in foreign lands. In losing their way, they have made us all vulnerable."

It's quite clear that Obama will ignore this letter in one last attempt to brush American torture under the rug. What a brave fellow he is.

Obama's worst nightmare

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this:

Two Norwegian lawmakers say they have jointly nominated former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

Wouldn't that be the perfect irony? Both Obama and Snowden getting the Nobel Peace Prize? Of course, if Snowden won the prize, it would be the case that he actually, you know, did something to earn it. Obama, on the other hand, "earned" the prize by making speeches that he never followed up on. Which only adds to the deliciousness of the juxtaposition.

Malala's humble statement

Over at Raw Story, I learn that Malala Yousafzai said this:

In my opinion I have not done that much to win the Nobel Peace Prize,” she said.

I guess she hasn't heard about Obama.

Malala must win the Nobel Peace Prize

Now that Peter Higgs has his Nobel for physics, the only remaining drama for me is who will win the Peace Prize. It has to be Malala Yousafzai, right? That girl is so amazing.

Jerry Coyne has a post up this morning about her recent appearance on the Daily Show. I am in awe of her spirit. Surely she'll get the award, right? Of course, they might just double down on idiocy and give it to Obama again. There's always that. But I'm rooting for Malala. Aren't you?

PS: I've written about Malala Yousafzai before, and just this morning received an anonymous comment on that post. It said:

I saw Malala on The Daily Show and realized I had just seen and heard a Saint. True courage. 

That commenter is so right. It's in the cards. Malala will win the Nobel Peace Prize. How could it be otherwise?