2009 Nobel Peace Prize a disservice and a potential liability." An editorial in "The Washington Post" began, "It's an odd Nobel Peace Prize that almost makes you embarrassed for the honoree", and compared the Nobel Committee's statement that Obama had "created a new climate in international politics" to a recent satirical skit on television. A "Los Angeles Times" editorial said the committee "didn't just embarrass Obama, it diminished the credibility of the prize itself". Thomas L. Friedman of "The New York Times" wrote, "It dismays me that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way". Much of the commentary
2010 Nobel Peace Prize while residing in China. Liu was the third person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison or detention after Germany's Carl von Ossietzky (1935) and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi (1991). As the laureate was absent, Liu's place on the podium was unoccupied; Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann read "I Have No Enemies", an essay that Liu had written for his trial in December 2009, in place of the acceptance speech. The Nobel Committee disclosed there were a record number of nominations in 2010 – a total of 237, of which 38 were organisations. Although the committee has