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Who will be awarded the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize? Nominees are never named by the panel, but speculation is now rife with Paddy Power offering odds on likely (and unlikely) contenders for the prestigious mark of recognition. Just go to “Novelty Bets” and scroll down to “Current Affairs” on the Paddy Power website.

Nobel Peace Prize Announcement is Friday, October 10, 11:00 a.m. CET

Latest on Nobel Peace Prize contenders from The Age

“The prize this year will finally go to a Chinese dissident, and I believe that the most likely is Hu Jia, perhaps together with his wife,” predicted Stein Toennesson, director of the International Peace Research Institute, in Oslo.

[the committee] could opt to put the spotlight on Russia, according to Janne Haaland Matlary, a political science professor at Oslo University.

Other names circulating are the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and democracy activist Thich Quang Do, the former French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt and the Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

For more from The Age click here.

A spotlight on Russia could see Chechen human rights lawyer, Lidiya Yusupova, thrust into the limelight.

Paddy Power Odds (22:27 05/10/2008) click here for Paddy Power

Applies to the 2008 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Dead Heat Rules May Apply. Others on request.

Hu Jia 7 - 4
Wei Jingsheng 14 - 1

Bill Richardson 40 - 1
Thich Quang Do 4 - 1

Abdelaziz Bouteflika 16 - 1

Esperanto 50 - 1
Lidia Yusupova 6 - 1

Mordechai Vanunu 18 - 1

Bono 50 - 1
Ingrid Betancourt 8 - 1

The Peace Jam Foundation 25 - 1

Bertie Ahern 66 - 1
Morgan Tsvangirai 8 - 1

Helmut Kohl 25 - 1

Tony Blair 66 - 1
Martti Ahtisaari 8 - 1

Bob Geldof 33 - 1

Nicolas Sarkozy 80 - 1
The Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) 10 - 1

Father John Dear 33 - 1

Vladimir Putin 250 - 1
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 10 - 1

Greenpeace 40 - 1

George Bush 500 - 1
Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and the African Union 12 - 1

Here is a breakdown of the credentials of each candidate named by Paddy Power:

Chinese Dissident, Hu Jia

Hu Jia

Hu has been involved in the Chinese Democracy Movement and other social causes in China. He was arrested in 2007 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Hu’s wife, Zeng Jinyan, was included in Time Magazine’s 100 Heroes and Pioneers for her political blogging. Zeng and their daughter were kept under house arrest and before disappearing shortly before the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Wei Jingsheng, political exile

Wei Jingsheng

Denounced the dictatorship of Deng Xiaoping and then spent many years in prison before being effectively exiled to the United States of America. Besides the well publicized essay he wrote in 1978, the Fifth Modernization, he is the author of “Courage to Stand Alone - letters from Prison and Other Writings”, which compiles his articles written initially on toilet paper in jail.

Bill Richardson

Richardson has been recognized for negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen, and political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba. He served as US Ambassador to the UN, sponsored many groundbreaking bills to aid the cause of Native Americans and undertook many special negotiations with North Korea and Sudan.

Thich Quang Do

Thich Quang Do

Thich Quang Do has been a member of the leadership of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam since the 1960s. He has criticised the current regime of Vietnam and has been jailed several times. In 2001, he launched the “Appeal for Democracy in Vietnam” plan and was placed under house arrest in Thanh Minh Temple in Saigon.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika

President of Algeria since 1999. He presided over the African Union in 2000 and secured the Algiers Peace Treaty between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and supported peace efforts in the African Great Lakes Region.

Esperanto

The made-up language that aimed to create peace through understanding. Invented by L. L. Zamenhof.

Lidia Yusupova, human rights lawyer

Lidia Muhtarovna Yusupova

Coordinator of the law office of the Moscow-based human rights organization Memorial. In 2000, during the Second Chechen War, she decided to devote her life to human rights, using her legal expertise and personal experience during both wars to help others that were entangled in the bloody conflict. The International Federation of Human Rights reported that Lidia faced death threats for her work on October 12, 2006.

Mordechai Vanunu

Former nuclear technician from Israel, who revealed details of Israel’s nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently kidnapped in Rome by Israeli agents and smuggled to Israel, where he was tried and convicted of treason.

Mordechai Vanunu spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 years in solitary confinement. In 2007 Vanunu was sentenced to six months in prison for violating terms of his parole. The sentence was considered unusual even by the prosecution who expected a suspended sentence.

Bono

Paul David Hewson is the main vocalist of the Irish rock band U2. Bono is widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA. He has organized and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. He is the co-founder of EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red.

Ingrid Betancourt - former hostage

Ingrid Betancourt

Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian-French politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist. Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on February 23, 2002, and rescued from captivity six and a half years later. She was taken while campaigning for the Colombian presidency as a Green. She had decided to campaign in an area of high guerrilla presence in spite of warnings from the government, police and military not to do so.

The Peace Jam Foundation

The mission of the PeaceJam Foundation is to create a new generation of young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates.

Bertie Ahern

The former Irish taoiseach forged a succession of coalition governments for his Fianna Fail party and closed on the Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland in 1998, promoting peace and stability on the green isle.

Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai is a key figure in the opposition to President Robert Mugabe. He was allegedly beaten by state forces during suppression efforts.

Helmut Kohl, former German Chancellor

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl was the longest serving Chancellor of Germany since Otto von Bismarck and oversaw the end of the Cold War which ultimately resulted in the reunification of West and East Germany. Kohl styled himself as the architect of the reunification and, together with French President François Mitterrand, the Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union.

Tony Blair

Tony Blair was Prime Minister during the final stages of the Good Friday Agreement - the main player, Mo Mowlam, has since passed away- he made many attempts to broker a deal in the Middle East and is still doing so.

Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a former President of Finland (1994-2000) and a United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work.

His most recent appointment was as UN Special Envoy at the Kosovo status process negotiations, aimed at resolving a long-running dispute in Kosovo which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.

Bob Geldof

In 1984, Geldof reacted to a news report about starving children in Ethiopia by mobilising the pop world to do something about the images he had seen. He and Midge Ure of Ultravox wrote ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ in order to raise funds. The song was recorded by various artists under the name of Band Aid.

Geldof and Ure organized Live Aid, raising over £150 million for famine relief. Geldof was knighted, at age 34, for his efforts. He has since joined the Commission for Africa, Africa Progress Panel and has won many more awards.

Nicolas Sarkozy

Shortly after taking office, President Sarkozy began negotiations with Colombian president Álvaro Uribe and the left-wing guerrilla FARC, regarding the release of hostages held by the rebel group, especially Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt. According to some sources, Sarkozy himself asked for Uribe to release FARC’s “chancellor” Rodrigo Granda. Furthermore, he announced on 24 July 2007, that French and European representatives had obtained the extradition of the Bulgarian nurses detained in Libya to their country. In exchange, he signed with Gaddafi security, health care and immigration pacts - and a $230 million (168 million euros) MILAN antitank missile sale.

The Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC)

The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is an international coalition working to protect civilians from the effects of cluster munitions. The CMC has a membership of around 300 civil society organisations from more than 80 countries, and includes organisations working on disarmament, peace and security, human rights, victim/survivor assistance, clearance, women’s rights, faith issues and other areas of work. The CMC facilitates the efforts of NGOs worldwide to educate governments, the public and the media about the problems of cluster munitions and the solution. Click here for more information.

Father John Dear

Fr. John Dear, S.J. is a Jesuit priest, peace activist, lecturer, and writer of approximately twenty books on nonviolence, including Living Peace.

In the course of his civil disobedience against war, he has been arrested more than 75 times. In addition, he was incarcerated for eight months for participating in a Plowshares Movement disarmament action. As a result, Dear lost his United States voting rights, is prohibited from traveling to certain countries, and is subjected to increased scrutiny at airports.

Vladimir Putin

Vladimiar Putin started a war this year and has overseen the significant cooling of relations with the West. Journalists reporting on the Chechen conflict have been murdered and he has retained position as Prime Minister as the consitution does not allow a third term for a Russian president. He is an ex-KB agent.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the international Art of Living Foundation which aims to relieve stress at an individual level, and to relieve disease and violence at a societal level.

Shankar is also a driving force behind the charitable organization, International Association for Human Values, which conducts the “5H” programme.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace stands for positive change through action. We defend the natural world and promote peace.

We investigate, expose and confront environmental abuse by governments and corporations around the world.

We champion environmentally responsible and socially just solutions, including scientific and technical innovation.

Our goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity.

For more on Greenpeace click here.

George Bush

George Bush has declared war on two countries, terrorism and evil.

Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and the African Union

The above signed a power-sharing deal in an attempt to end the uncertainty which followed the disputed 2007 election.

Nobel Peace Prize Announcement is Friday, October 10, 11:00 a.m. CET
Click here to place your bet on the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Award - bet before Friday Morning!

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