Nobel Peace Prize and Human Rights Day

December 10th.  Peace Prize day.  It’s the one day every year that the world turns its attention to Oslo.  For those of you planning on joining us in Oslo, the forecast for today is a balmy 23F/-5C. 

(I can only imagine how excited the Norwegian Tourism people must have been when they initially heard that the Peace Prize would be awarded every December 10th. 

“You mean we get one a shot a year at showing off the beauty of Norway and you guys picked #!*%ing December 10th?  It’s cold and dark and miserable!  We quit.”)

Martti Ahtisaari will receive the award later today.  If you’re interested in watching live, click here. 

December 10th is also known as Human Rights Day, in honor of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on December 10, 1948, marking today as the 60th anniversary.

So go out there and celebrate, wherever you are in the world.  If you can’t make it here, I’ll have a 65 kroner (~$9) beer for you. 

And the winner is…

…Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland.  

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to ‘fraternity between nations’ in Alfred Nobel’s spirit,” the committee said in announcing the prize.

(AP)

Well, I figured I would guess wrong, but it seems like Ahtisaari is a good choice.  Here’s a token Finnish flag in his honor:

Peace Prize Prognosis?

At noon tomorrow in Oslo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.  So who will win?  It seems like the media believes Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia is the frontrunner. 

Feel free to make any guesses for posterity in the comments.  Here’s an article to help with some guesses.

As for my own guess, I’ll take Thích Quảng Độ.