Indigenous Peoples from across North America and their allies from around the world gathered at the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen yesterday to deliver a message to President Obama as he traveled to Oslo to accept his Nobel Prize. The delegation of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and First Nations Peoples is in Denmark this week for the historic COP 15 Climate Talks, and is calling for a climate deal that includes a moratorium on all new exploration of oil, gas, coal and uranium as a first step towards the full phase-out of fossil fuels and a just solution to the climate crisis.

In an era marked by pre-emptive war, it’s perhaps fitting that Barack Obama has been awarded a pre-emptive Nobel Peace Prize. With less than a year on the job, President Obama was awarded the prestigious award based largely on what might result from his efforts on nuclear weapons and on 'international diplomacy.' The announcement of Obama’s win comes -- pre-emptively -- mere weeks ahead of an expected decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for his accomplishments in international diplomacy, climate change and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. The Nobel Committee praised Obama for his “constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting,” but, Richard Kim of The Nation wonders the award comes too soon, as Obama has not yet committed to attending the international climate summit at Copenhagen.