In an act of cringe making political footlicking President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having achieved precisely nothing. The reason given by the Nobel committee in Oslo is that he has good intentions. I have intentions of solving every problem in medicine so why not give me a prize in that discipline. One Russian parliamentarian is supposed to have said that this shows how awful the Bush administration was, so that Obama gets the prize for doing nothing. Since coming to office Obama has certainly given some magnificent speeches. However, he has not been able to pass his healthcare reforms. The US representatives blocked any progress in Copenhagen by refusing to entertain any specific cuts in greenhouse gases while trying to get India to commit to reductions. The Doha round of WTO talks are still in limbo. Inspite of numerous US thinktanks linking Pakistan's ISI with the Taliban the US has increased military aid to the Pakis while increasing numbers of US soldiers continue to die. Bomb in front of the Indian embassy in Kabul on Thursday, in Peshawar yesterday and an attack in Islamabad today. Guantanamo remains open. Iran continues building its nuclear bombs while Israelis continue building settlements. Perhaps instead of being called a Peace Prize it should henceforth be called Nobel Gas Prize.