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The sentence below is inappropriate. All groups have their critics, but to lambast HRW for a 'record of political bias' and 'lack of credibility' is pretty absurd, all advocacy groups have some sort of position, and both statements are, themselves, subjective and, dare I say, biased.
Axworthy is Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, a highly controversial position resulting from this organisation's record of political bias, fundraising in Saudi Arabia, and lack of credibility.[15] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.246.146.105 ( talk) 05:06, 13 December 2023 (UTC)
Being nominated for the Peace Prize is an honor, but it is not official and not necessarily prestigious. Any national legislator or about a third of the university professors in the world can make a nomination, and there have been as many as 140 some years. Nominators are requested to keep their nominations secret, so it's only those wishing publicity who make announcements. Altogether, I see no reason to keep it. No offense to the subject, this is a general Nobel Peace Prize "nominees" issue. - Willmcw 03:45, Jun 17, 2005 (UTC)
As I understand it, the "Peace Prize" discussions were based on a general rumour in political circles, not on leaked reports of a nomination. My feeling is that it should stay. CJCurrie 19:08, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Was it reported in the press? If so it should stay. AndyL 00:46, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I've done a bit more research on this. It seems that Axworthy's Nobel nomination was more than a general rumour -- it was real, and is frequently mentioned in biographical sketches. For proof, do a google search for "Lloyd Axworthy" and "Nobel Peace Prize" (I could cite a reference, but as there are so many of them it would be an arbitrary choice).
This is a major part of Axworthy's cv, and it should stay. CJCurrie 29 June 2005 19:35 (UTC)
Why not state both, if both are important? CJCurrie 29 June 2005 20:03 (UTC)
These are interesting examples, but not especially relevant to the case at hand.
You may be correct to suggest that Nobel nominations aren't always worthy of mention, and the cases you've cited may provide instances of occasions when then are not. In Axworthy's case, however, the Nobel nomination has become an extremely significant part of his public persona. It's mentioned almost every time he makes a public appearance, and (as I've noted above) is an essential component of his current cv.
I don't think we need to use a "one size fits all" approach to dealing with Nobel nominations. In Axworthy's case, I think that any reasonable person who follows Canadian politics would acknowledge the nomination as relevant. CJCurrie 29 June 2005 20:50 (UTC)
It's not just Axworthy's claim. Virtually every media outlet in Canada has repeated the claim, and I've discovered one website which claims that "Axworthy and the [anti-land mines] committee were nominated early on for the Nobel Peace prize", a statement which suggests some internal knowledge of the process.
If you can find a single source which questions Axworthy's nomination, I might be more inclined to consider your argument further. CJCurrie 29 June 2005 21:11 (UTC)
I repeat: a single source which casts doubt on Axworthy's nomination would greatly benefit your case.
In any event, I'm not sure how much more needs to be said. Perhaps we should wait for others to enter the debate before taking any futher steps. CJCurrie 29 June 2005 21:25 (UTC)
Do we actually know that it was widely reported in 1997? Also, who are the "many" that believe he was a strong contender? I think that we're going out even further on a limb now than we were before.
No, we are not going out even further on a limb than before. Even in the absence of absolute proof that Axworthy was nominated, it *was* widely reported in 1997, and his chances for winning *were* widely discussed. I know because I witnessed this firsthand. The "many" included just about every major outlet in the Canadian media. This was not a case of a few random sources -- this was a *major* news development in Canada at the time.
I see no reason to change to edit again. CJCurrie 29 June 2005 22:50 (UTC)
As far as I know, the identity of the nominator was never made public. Nonetheless, Axworthy's nomination was the very definition of an "open secret". CJCurrie 29 June 2005 23:20 (UTC)
Axworthy was reported as a *prominent* nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Canadian media reports from this period listed him among potential winners; the total number (or average number) of nominees was not relevant to the discussion, and was never mentioned. It isn't relevant here, either.
The nominations are secret, unless the nominator holds a press conference, which didn't happen in this case.
In other words, they are usually kept secret. Hence my wording. CJCurrie 29 June 2005 23:40 (UTC)
What was his PhD in? What did he teach at U of M? Does he continue to teach and in what field? moink 17:40, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
Why is Axworthy's bio so one-sided? On the pretense of presenting "the facts", many important details are left out (his Nobel Peace Prize nomination is not one of the important ones - anyone can be nominated). Axworthy, along with fellow cabinet minister Paul Martin (later Canadian Prime Minister) administered the largest funding cuts to Canada's social programmes in the history of their existence (since 1930s and 1940s).
The largest funding cuts since the 1990s, on a flimsy argument about paying down the deficit, soon followed by reckless tax cuts (although Axworthy was not directly responsible for those). Health care, social assistance, education - 40% cuts approximately (more details are easily available). Under Axworthy's watch, unemployment insurance (as it used to be called before its reinvention under Axworthy) was pilfered to pay for tax cuts and supposedly paying down the deficit. He also helped ensure that the federal right to social assistance was done away with in Canada, leaving the provinces to develop a nasty dog's breakfast of systems, and cut back assistance to the poor. Tuition fees skyrocketed across Canada and now Axworthy champions Winnipeg's poor and access to education. Axworthy called on Young Liberal clubs on campuses to attempt infiltrate the student movement in Canada, to end the criticism of his policies (see source: Double Vision by Anthony Wilson-Smith, former editor of Maclean's magazine, a major newsmagazine in Canada).
In 1998-1999, the East Timor Alert Network proved that Axworthy had bald-faced lied in a meeting with them (after returning from a visit to East Timor and Indonesia before the independence referendum for ET) about Canada's military sales to Indonesia. Bottom line: if you can't provide a balanced analysis of all this, then I'm afraid the bio should undergo some serious editing.
There are likely as many Axworthy skeptics as fans in Manitoba: the first lines of his bio are totally unsupported and the reference to his popularity should be removed. Axworthy's bio is like so many of the politico's bios on Wikipedia - one-sided and congratulatory, keeping the "controversial" parts to minor issues or quirky facts about nominations and elections. For Wikipedia to gain credibility, it has to stop touting the power class status quo in its biographies. A catalogue of election dates and a CV is fine. If Wikipedia wants to delve into the politics of these individuals, then it needs to declare a political philosophy and have some coherent analysis. Otherwise, it's open to abuse by people like Axworthy and their supporters. And this doesn't even begin to get at the selectivity problems - i.e. it is mainly the power class seems to have time and resources (and the ego) to put bios online. I think Wikipedia needs to be a public service with some accountability, and a clear operational philosophy (beyond just being online and free and piling up codes of conduct while ignoring larger political issues) to ever be truly effective. I know I'm mixing macro and micro concerns here, but the Axworthy biography does need some serious editing. - E. C. —Preceding
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