Nobel Peace Prize reaction: Taliban thumbs down, Israeli thumbs up, Asian disappointment

Around the world, reaction to President Obama's surprising selection to receive the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize has been as varied as in this country, and perhaps as partisan.

The English-language version of Al Jazeera, the Arab news service, posted a drawing of Obama as Superman -- (Irony? You be the judge) -- and posed the question: "But after less than a year in office does the U.S. president deserve the award? Is the decision a clever political move by the Nobel committee? Will it help or hinder Obama's presidency?"

A commenter from Pakistan responded: "I think this Nobel prize goes to Obama as a result of favouritism and internal politics. I just don’t get what has he done to bring peace. Does anyone know that America has been using the internationally banned phosphorus bomb in Iraq…It is still being used....If Pakistan was to be using it, America would launch a direct attack on us."

The Jerusalem Post reported: "Reactions to U.S. President Barack Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday were mostly positive as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised him for the achievement while Hamas leader Ismail Hanieyh said that the occasion meant little for the Palestinians."

Netanyahu was particularly effusive in a note he sent Obama, reported the Post: "You have given inspiration to people all over the world until now and winning this prize is an expression of the hope that your presidency will promote a new era of peace and placation."

Hamas Prime Minister Haniyeh in the Gaza Strip on Friday said his group heard Obama's speeches seeking better relations with the Islamic world but had not been moved. "We are in need of actions, not sayings," Haniyeh said. "If there is no fundamental and true change in American policies toward the acknowledgment of the rights of the Palestinian people, I think this prize won't move us forward or backward."

Sarah Palin can see China from Hong Kong

Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin made a decorous debut on the international stage Wednesday with a long speech to investors in Hong Kong.

As politicians like ex-President George W. Bush prefer when they leave public office, the event was closed to the evil, distorting media that's probably too cheap to buy a ticket anyway. And as with teenage dating, there's nothing the pursuer wants more than something he can't have.

So, of course, some details always leak out. Palin was reportedly well-received and folksy at times, but gone was any hard-edged partisanship so familiar from the campaign a year ago. She did not mention what's-his-name in the White House who clobbered her Republican presidential ticket last November.

''I'm going to call it like I see it," she said, according to the Associated Press, "and I will share with you candidly a view right from Main Street, Main Street U.S.A.''

She made an argument for a private industry solution to U.S. healthcare problems, for lower taxes and reduced government. She suggested that China play a more responsible role in international affairs, especially concerning North Korea and Afghanistan.

Her first post-resignation trip abroad will be seen by many as the start of her campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination. It is, of course, way too early for that decision to be made. She'll be testing the waters here and there, gaining experience and being seen in new positive locales, not so much because she's decided to run but in case she decides to run.

Meanwhile, what's often forgotten is that the old-fashioned lecture circuit -- especially internationally where curiosity and interest in American public figures are strong -- is a lucrative gig for former American politicians.

Palin signed with the Washington Speakers Bureau, the same prestigious agency that booked Bush into a closed business forum in Calgary last winter and a discussion with ex-President Bill Clinton in Toronto in spring. Despite his personal scandals as an Oval Office incumbent, Clinton became a multi-multi-millionaire from whopping speaking fees around the world.

Palin's reportedly received more than 1,000 invitations.

Put 2012 aside a moment and recall that in addition to her book advance, Palin needs to make some big money to pay off lingering legal debts from partisan investigations that she blamed for her premature gubernatorial resignation in July. And without ongoing publicity, the shelf life of an out-of-office politician can be short -- and the appearance price tag small.

For the opposite, think of someone named Newt Gingrich, who resigned as GOP House speaker after a bad election outcome 11 years ago. And yet he lives -- and talks -- on. And on. And on.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Sarah Palin with CLSA CEO Jonathan Slone. Credit: CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets

09-09-09: What Chinese numerology portends for Obama's speech tonight

Last year, the Chinese opened the gates to the Beijing Olympics on 8 p.m. of 08/08/08. According to Chinese numerology,  the  word for eight (bā) sounds similar to the word for wealth (fā), so it seemed like a prudent thing to do. Eager for a prosperous Olympics that would showcase a modern and vibrant China, the government took heed and programmed the opening ceremonies around the magic of 8.

This year is in some ways even more auspicious. Historically, the number 9 was the good luck charm of the Emperor of China, whose robes had nine dragons. The reason: the number 9 sounds like the word long-lasting. Cue the wedding music.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this morning, 500 couples participated in a mass wedding ceremony (above). In Shanghai, 5,000 couples registered to marry. In Beijing, 3,500 couples made online bookings  Even in Vegas, the Stratosphere was offering quickie weddings, hoping to marry off 99 couples at 9:09 p.m. for a fee of $99.09 each. (The Bellagio was offering a package too, but for $5,000, subject to availability.)

So we wondered what it means that President Obama plans to address Congress on 09-09-09, in hopes of bolstering support -- amid angry town hall meetings and politicians nervous about fading public support -- for health care reform.

Jerome Carter, an international numerologist and spiritual adviser who says he has predicted 18 of the last 19 World Series winners, argues that despite the magic of the date, 2009 will be a tough year for Obama. "It's not an easy year for anything he proposes," he said in a phone interview, adding that Obama will ultimately succeed. The reason? The 44th president was born on Aug. 4, under the sign of the four, a magical number in U.S. history.

Consider, says Carter: our first president was born on the 22nd, (2 plus 2 equals 4), we elect our presidents every four years, we pay taxes in the fourth month of every year, and there were 13 original colonies (1 plus 3 equals 4). So Obama's tussles with Congress over health care and other issues would overwhelm him, in the eyes of this numerologist, if not for the protection of the number 4.

As for 09/09/09, Carter said it's a reversal of 9/11, a powerful date for negotiation and diplomacy, but also of yin and yang, of right and left. "Today he could get crushed," Carter said. "He's saved by having that 4. It gives him an extra ace. If wasn't for that, he might as well pack it up. If he were a football team, I'd bet on him. That number gives him the edge."

Which may sound a bit far-fetched, but heck, it may be as prescient as any other political prediction. And anyway, Carter's views are shared by another star numerologist.

Tania Gabrielle, who calls herself the celebrity numerologist, just e-mailed that the universal number for 2009 is 11 (2 plus 9). "No. 11 literally looks like and symbolizes a gateway and signifies mastery, fearlessness -- or deep division," she wrote. "Thus the President Obama is risking greater division and unexpected events as a result of his big speech."

In short, she said, Obama's speech is "a major gamble" on a personal level, but on a global level "he has the potential to cement his leadership by exhibiting mastery and/or to create deep division."

Who knew?

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Couples in Malaysia getting married. Credit: Vincent Thian / Associated Press

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And then there were two: Obama meets the Chinese; transcript of president's speech

Remember all those summits that President Obama attended in Europe earlier this year-- the G-20 in Britain, the G-8 in Italy?

As the last one ended in Italy, Obama lamented that there were so many leaders at so many conferences issuing so many promises of intentions to do things. Worse, he noted that since the organizations were founded decades ago, they no longer reflected the real-world power structure. And he's right. Russia is sort of an afterthought. China has to attend as an also-ran.

"There's no sense that those institutions can adequately capture the enormous changes that have taken place during those intervening decades," he said. As for reforming the structure of international diplomacy, Obama said he'd noticed that "everybody wants the smallest possible group, smallest....

New Orleans' Mayor Nagin: Free from Chinese quarantine

As Ticket reported the other day, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, along with his wife Seletha and their security guard, were quarantined by Chinese officials on their arrival in Shanghai on Sunday because one of the passengers on their plane -- a French student seated a few rows from them -- had the swine flu.

In China on a trade mission, Nagin was also in danger of missing a global warming conference in Sydney, Australia, where he was to be the keynote speaker. Meanwhile Fox News reported that Chinese officials were screening the mayor's calls, "to keep him safe."

The news that Nagin was waylaid in Shanghai occasioned great mischief on the part of the mayor's political foes. One radio talk show host, Jeff Crouere, suggested that the Chinese keep the controversial Nagin -- who after Hurricane Katrina urged African Americans to rebuild New Orleans as a "chocolate" city -- for the remaining 11 months of his term.

So, in the interest of keeping faith with all those Nagin fans and foes, the Ticket can now report that the Nagins have been released from quarantine and are heading to Australia. Nagin spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said this morning that the mayor will now complete the second leg of his trip, out of China.

--Johanna Neuman

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Photo: Max Whittaker / Getty Images

New Orleans' Mayor Nagin shanghaied in Shanghai

 
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was quarantined in China on Sunday after another passenger on his flight was suspected of having swine flu. In a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg News, the mayor's staff reports that Nagin doesn’t have any symptoms and that he, his wife and his security guard are being treated with “utmost courtesy.”

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Nagin infamously urged residents to rebuild "a chocolate New Orleans," i.e. a majority African American city. (He later apologized).

Now, he's shanghaied on an economic development trip in Shanghai and may have to miss a conference on climate change in Australia, where he was to give the keynote address.

It's true that China has been fierce in its reaction to the swine flu outbreak -- instituting fever checks at airports, quarantining foreign arrivals and halting pork imports from countries with infections.

But back home in Louisiana, political critics wasted no time in suggesting that the Democratic mayor's hotel incarceration was a bonus.

"For the good of the people of the City of New Orleans," wrote talk show host and Republican leader Jeff Crouere in bayoubuzz.com, "I think it is imperative that the government of the People’s Republic of China keep Mayor Nagin in quarantine in their country for the next 11 months."

Urging a petition drive to convince Chinese officials to keep Nagin, Crouere added:

During his 11 month quarantine, Nagin can return to health and the City of New Orleans can recover from another serious disease, the Nagin Flu. The symptoms of the Nagin Flu are quite severe and multi-faceted.

They include a lack of cranes in the sky, an anemic hurricane recovery, a poor public education system, horrific street conditions, rampant violent crime, boneheaded comments from City Hall, outlandish promises that are never kept, too many city vehicles, not enough working crime cameras, a strip club loving technology director, an email obsessed and arrogant sanitation director, and a disillusioned and disgusted populace just to name a few.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Photo: Max Whittaker / Getty Images