Haiku 101009

rainbow's end
fruits and vegetables
in baskets

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Recently, we read the following:

NPR: “Obama Wins Nobel, Vows 'Call To Action' “

“President Obama was ‘surprised and deeply humbled’ to be selected for the Nobel Peace Prize, he said Friday, promising to accept the honor as a ‘call to action’ to meet the challenges ahead in his presidency.

“At a short White House speech, Obama said he did not view the surprise award ‘as a recognition of my own accomplishments’ but rather as a recognition of goals he has set for the United States and the world…

“He won the prize ‘for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,’ the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced, saying it had ‘attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.’

" ‘Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future,’ Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee, said. ‘In the past year Obama has been a key person for important initiatives in the U.N. for nuclear disarmament and to set a completely new agenda for the Muslim world and East-West relations…’ "

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And we thought:

… We congratulate President Obama for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And we applaud the Nobel Committee for this apparently bold decision. Its members must have certainly expected that their decision would be criticized by some as "premature."

On the other hand, perhaps the committee meant this award to be a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts -- a challenge to Obama to pursue more profoundly and concretely the ideals that the award upholds. And, given Obama’s position as U.S. president and his current standing in world politics, perhaps the committee saw an opportunity to make a robust statement of support for Obama -- someone it sees as uniquely placed to lead the world more firmly along the path of peace, and of plenty that comes with peace.

Since the presidential campaign until now, Obama has talked consistently about pursuing more diplomatic and peaceable options in international relations. Now the Nobel Committee appears to be asking for a higher level of commitment -- for Obama to walk the talk. For the sake of all peace-loving peoples and nations, we hope he succeeds. He will, of course, need a lot of help…

Haiku 100409

lake spray
catching sunlight
bows of colors

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Recently, we read the following:


NPR: “Rio De Janeiro Named Host Of 2016 Olympics”

“Rio de Janeiro was chosen Friday as the host site of the 2016 Olympic Games, brushing aside an unprecedented personal appeal from President Obama and the first lady on behalf of their home town of Chicago.

“International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, speaking in Copenhagen where the body voted, opened a ceremonial envelope and read off the vote of IOC members naming Rio as the winner. A huge crowd that had gathered in the Brazilian city sent up a roar of approval when the announcement was made.

“The winner beat surprise finalist Madrid in the last round of voting. Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting at the meeting of the IOC in Copenhagen, and Tokyo was eliminated in the second. In awarding Olympic bids, the IOC holds rounds of voting until one city receives a majority.

“Rio's victory marks the first time a South American city has been chosen to host the games. ‘It is a time to address this imbalance,’ Brazil's charismatic president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told the IOC's members before they voted. ‘It is time to light the Olympic caldron in a tropical country…’ "

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And we thought:

… It is not only time that the Olympic Games be brought finally to South America. In the context of North-South parity (or disparity), it is right. The colors of the Olympic flag will be much brighter in 2016 in the tropical sun…