Friday, October 08, 2010

China Now Butt of the Joke

"Liu Xiaobo is a convicted criminal sentenced to jail by Chinese justice. His acts are in complete contradiction to the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize."


- China, reacting to the Nobel committee's selection of Liu Xiaobo as recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace prize.

I'll wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes, and congratulate Liu Xiaobo on his heroic dissent from his oppressive government. Xiaobo has done much more towards earning his Nobel Peace prize than the previous recipient, who was awarded his prize for talking about sunshine and puppies, hope and change, and for getting elected President of the United States of America.

I guess that now, finally, China gets the joke that is the Nobel Peace Prize: Do something that resonates with liberal European sensibilities, and you're in there like swimwear. Just ask Al Gore, or Paul Krugman.