Nobel nominee: This year, pope's candidacy has bit of a buzz

[arcos]

Nobel nominee: This year, pope's candidacy has bit of a buzz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When a group of three women and two men huddled in Norway in late September and picked this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, many wondered whether the recipient would be Pope John Paul II.

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One obvious reason is timeliness. The 83-year-old pontiff is celebrating his silver jubilee Oct. 16, six days after the peace prize is announced. And on Oct. 19, the pope will beatify Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1979.

<snip>

A record 165 nominations were received this year, and those who survived the vetting process apparently include Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

Also reportedly on the short list were dissidents and human rights activists from Iran, Cuba, China and Russia. A number of humanitarian groups were considered, along with a perennial entry, the Salvation Army.

U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were submitted as candidates for their roles in leading the military attack against the Iraqi regime, but are thought to have no chance -- especially since the Nobel committee publicly opposed the war.

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/20031003.htm

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disclosure: I don't agree with a lot of the descriptions of the Pope in this article. Although he has been an advocate for peace, I have serious problems with other of his policies. However, I didn't know he was 'the frontrunner' for the Nobel Peace Prize, and I think he'll probably win it.

[mddemo]

1. the pope

If i had a vote in this, John Paul would get mine.

[thebigidea]

2. BWHAHAHAH!

HAMID KARZAI?

for WHAT?

wearing a dashing-yet-completely-wrong outfit?
being a compliant puppet?
letting "his" country slip into chaos & tribal war?
boosting opium production?

WHAT?

[mddemo]

3. outfit

whats his outfit got to do with it, i happen to know his brother, and when his outfit was discussed he told me that the pashtun tribal leaders often dress snazy, as this is a kinda status thing, i concur as its like when the clan chiefs and kings dressed more opulant to show status and power to help fend off rivals. as osama bin laden once opined if a man sees a strong horse hes more likely to pin his hopes on him than on a week horse (paraphrased)

[mndemocrat_29]

4. I think it should be the Pope

He should've received this prize years ago, but I think better late than never.