Nobel Prize Joke

[Warren Dew]

Really? So attempting to democratise a tyrranical communist Government through peaceful activism is not at all in lines with the goal of peace?

Considering the relative amounts of warfare that China and, say, the U.S. engage in, it makes even less sense than would giving the peace prize to Don Black for Stormfront's opposition to the U.S. government.

[sandinista]

Really? So attempting to democratise a tyrranical communist Government through peaceful activism is not at all in lines with the goal of peace?

Considering the relative amounts of warfare that China and, say, the U.S. engage in, it makes even less sense than would giving the peace prize to Don Black for Stormfront's opposition to the U.S. government.

or any number of activists that oppose the US government.

[GreyICE]

Here's some basic facts.

China executes 5,000-6,000 people each year, minimum. Rates exceeded 10,000 in 2005 and before.
A 2003 report identified 460 deaths from torture in Chinese prisons. An unknown number of people are tortured each year. Many die.
China harvests organs from political dissidents and those it executes. Reports say that the organs are frequently harvested from living victims.

They brutally suppress free speech, imprison those that disagree with them, and stifle dissent in the ugliest of manners.

But yes, carry on, you crazy diamonds.

[sandinista]

Here's some basic facts.

China executes 5,000-6,000 people each year, minimum. Rates exceeded 10,000 in 2005 and before.
A 2003 report identified 460 deaths from torture in Chinese prisons. An unknown number of people are tortured each year. Many die.
China harvests organs from political dissidents and those it executes. Reports say that the organs are frequently harvested from living victims.

They brutally suppress free speech, imprison those that disagree with them, and stifle dissent in the ugliest of manners.

But yes, carry on, you crazy diamonds.

can you give a link to that report, wouldn't mind giving it a read.

[Trolldor]

GreyICE, you overestimated the execution rate, it's just a mere 3400.

The report says China easily operates the most stringent capital punishment regime, with an estimated 3,400 executions last year.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0405-07.htm

Though 2008 must have been a slow year:

Amnesty revealed that China executed at least 1,178 people in the year 2008

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/china-ex ... world.html\
Then again, the fact that the amount of executions are a state secret makes it difficult to be sure.

[Trolldor]

Oh, and let's not forget their super fun happy 'death bus'.

[sandinista]

thanks for the links, was specifically looking for the "death by torture" stats. "A 2003 report identified 460 deaths from torture in Chinese prisons. An unknown number of people are tortured each year. Many die. "

[mistermack]

I'm totally against the death penalty. But it's got nothing to do with peace.
It's not surprising in a backward country. Even in advanced countries, there is often a majority of the public in favour of the death penalty. So you could argue that China is more democratic in this respect than "democratic" countries.

There are plenty of human rights violations happening in China. There would be plenty, if it was democratic. Probably a lot more, if nationalism caused a breakup of the state, following full democracy. There's lots of room for improvement, but there's also a huge capacity for things to get much worse.
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[Feck]

They should do a Nobel Prize for jokes ........... how cool would it be to say you got the nobel joke prize ?

[mistermack]

They should do a Nobel Prize for jokes ........... how cool would it be to say you got the nobel joke prize ?

That wouldn't be fair on the germans.
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[sandinista]

thanks for the links, was specifically looking for the "death by torture" stats. "A 2003 report identified 460 deaths from torture in Chinese prisons. An unknown number of people are tortured each year. Many die. "

no?

[JimC]

Some of the earlier Peace Prizes wewre a bit on the nose, in the sense of rewarding political prominence, but this one seems perfectly reasonable to me. The extreme reaction from the Chinese government shows how sensitive they are to criticism in this area, the poor dears...

[Trolldor]

I'm totally against the death penalty. But it's got nothing to do with peace.
It's not surprising in a backward country. Even in advanced countries, there is often a majority of the public in favour of the death penalty. So you could argue that China is more democratic in this respect than "democratic" countries.

There are plenty of human rights violations happening in China. There would be plenty, if it was democratic. Probably a lot more, if nationalism caused a breakup of the state, following full democracy. There's lots of room for improvement, but there's also a huge capacity for things to get much worse.
.

Bullshit. You can't get much worse than a law forbidding opposition to the Ruling Power.

[mistermack]

Some of the earlier Peace Prizes wewre a bit on the nose, in the sense of rewarding political prominence, but this one seems perfectly reasonable to me. The extreme reaction from the Chinese government shows how sensitive they are to criticism in this area, the poor dears...

That's all fine, if you accept that peace prizes don't have to be about peace.
Personally, I think it should do what it says on the tin.

Who could criticise this guy getting a democracy prize, or a political freedom prize.
I certainly wouldn't. But a peace prize? For stirring the shit in a relatively peaceful country? That's a joke in my book.
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[mistermack]

I'm totally against the death penalty. But it's got nothing to do with peace.
It's not surprising in a backward country. Even in advanced countries, there is often a majority of the public in favour of the death penalty. So you could argue that China is more democratic in this respect than "democratic" countries.

There are plenty of human rights violations happening in China. There would be plenty, if it was democratic. Probably a lot more, if nationalism caused a breakup of the state, following full democracy. There's lots of room for improvement, but there's also a huge capacity for things to get much worse.
.

Bullshit. You can't get much worse than a law forbidding opposition to the Ruling Power.

You can't? I can think of lots worse:

A law forbidding oppostion to the ruling skin colour?
A law forbidding opposition to the ruling religion?
A law saying Jews must be rounded up and branded?
A fucking great apartheid wall stopping you from moving round the country of your ancestors?
Being blown to bits by cruise missiles?
A foreign government imposing a puppet regime so that they can rob you?
Being strapped to a board, and nearly drowned repeatedly?
Being held captive in a tiny reservation, while a religous state starves your kids?

You obviously haven't even tried to think of anything.
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