Red Letter Dai

It's always nice to get feedback and so when someone as prestigious as MP Dai Davis writes in to the Morning Star to agree with something I wrote there it warms the cockles of my heart. Here's my citation in full;

I agree with Jim Jepps (M Star October 13) that President Obama merited the Nobel peace prize.

I have submitted an early day motion in Parliament that warmly welcomes the award of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama.

It also welcomes his announcement on September 17 that the United States was cancelling the deployment of missile defence technology in Poland and the Czech Republic and the positive response from the government of the Russian Federation.

It also recognises the historic UN security council session that committed all member states to resolve to "seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons."

Dai Davies MP
House of Commons
Westminster

Thanks Dai.

One thing though, when I say things like "He did not deserve the prize... But we should not allow any cynicism at Obama's achievements to date to obscure the fact that the prize is being used to promote peace rather than reward it." It does tend to imply that I don't think he merited the award.

However, pedantry aside, the EDM is a good one (here) which does exactly what I'm advocating - using the Peace Prize to promote peace by holding Obama to its aspirations regardless of what we might think of his achievements to date.

What's even more interesting is the list of signatories so far. Anyone who can get Bob Spink (UKIP), Peter Bottomly (Tory) and Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) to put their names to the same document has some very special powers indeed. Kudos to Mr Davies and keep up the good work.