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the irony of a whistleblower trying to escape from the nobel-prize winning president of the United States being nominated for the nobel prize is, well pricelss.

by mixmax 13y ago

jmspring 13y ago
Obama was awarded the Peace Prize prematurely. I've yet to see something he's done to deserve it, despite voting for him the first time.
- Archio 13y ago
  That may be so, but let's keep in mind that there is no reason to criticize the President for being undeserving of the prize. It's not like he awarded it to himself.
  - jmspring 13y ago
    It was awarded upon the rhetoric of hope he espoused, but failed to follow up with in action. But your statement is factually correct.
  - sciguy77 13y ago
    Perhaps he was criticizing the Nobel committee, not the president?
  - vor_ 13y ago
    I see nothing wrong with criticizing him for being undeserving of the prize, because he is.
  - phaus 13y ago
    It's not his fault, but a man of integrity would have called them out for trying to give it to him when he hadn't even done anything to deserve it. The Nobel peace prize is pretty much a joke, former recipients include a pedophile and a direct supporter of terrorism. If I were Snowden, I wouldn't want one.
  - jmspring 13y ago
    Many who voted for him bought into the rhetoric of change and even some "hope". He has brought things in Iraq to a close, a plus. However, domestically, he has been Bush++ and even amplified the crackdown on whistleblowers. Eric Holder, in some ways, makes John Ashcroft look quaint.
- tokipin 13y ago
  besides ending the Iraq war, he's done a lot of stuff that is somewhat subtle. off the top of my head: a concerted and sustained nuclear arms reduction effort[1], and the specific way he handled the Libya situation[2]. still it remains that Obama is fundamentally pragmatic, for better or worse in any given issue. [1] good report here: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/46790266#46790266 http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/46790266#46790266 [2] http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-obamas-war-room-20111013 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-obamas-war-...
  - salgernon 13y ago
    (I wish people wouldn't downvote things just because they disagree with a statement. Downvoting because you disagree with someone is like putting your fingers in your ears and going blah blah blah I can't hear you and I don't want anyone else to hear you either. I wish people would save votes for comments that add nothing to a conversation. Like this one.)
  - FedRegister 13y ago
    He still murders people with flying robots. That's not very peaceful.
    - phaus 13y ago
      You're not representing him fairly, those aren't robots, there are trained killers on the other end of the drones.
      - FedRegister 13y ago
        A robot with an operator is still a robot.
        phaus 13y ago
        The drones with missiles on them are almost entirely controlled by the human. It's just a plane that's flown from the ground. We don't call planes robots, even when they are on autopilot.
zombio 13y ago
I don't really understand the nobel peace prize, or specifically why Obama was awarded it. I understand being the first black president of the United States is a big deal, but did he personally do anything to promote peace? Or does being black in the white house somehow lower racism, hence promoting world peace?
- u2328 13y ago
  Wasn't so much about him being the first black President as much as him not being Bush/Cheney et. al. Still pretty premature of them since Obama ended up adopting and ramping up many of the foreign policies that made Bush/Cheney so despised by the world in the first place.
  - phaus 13y ago
    But everyone should have known that he was Bush, and he was Cheney. Maybe five of the several hundred major politicians in our country are not carbon copies of one another.
- rosser 13y ago
  He was made a Nobel Laureate for not being George W. Bush.
- gajomi 13y ago
  I believe many people (including Obama himself) were surprised by his winning the prize. I don't think race was the primary reason (official or otherwise) behind his being awarded the prize. Among the main reasons for his nomination were "Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a 'new climate' in international relations fostered by Obama" [1]. One pessimistic view of this statement is that Obama was essentially awarded this prize for not being Bush, who was perceived by many in the international community as damaging the state of dialog between nations. Arguably, this could promote peace. The view was not without criticisms :) [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize
- jmspring 13y ago
  It was awarded, in part, I believe upon campaign rhetoric that was not followed though on. There is something to be said for the crowds that turned out for his first speech in Germany and his most recent. Actions matter.

the irony of a whistleblower trying to escape from the nobel-prize winning president of the United States being nominated for the nobel prize is, well pricelss.

by mixmax 13y ago

the irony of a whistleblower trying to escape from the nobel-prize winning president of the United States being nominated for the nobel prize is, well pricelss.

jmspring 13y ago

Obama was awarded the Peace Prize prematurely. I've yet to see something he's done to deserve it, despite voting for him the first time.

Archio 13y ago
That may be so, but let's keep in mind that there is no reason to criticize the President for being undeserving of the prize. It's not like he awarded it to himself.
- jmspring 13y ago
  It was awarded upon the rhetoric of hope he espoused, but failed to follow up with in action. But your statement is factually correct.
- sciguy77 13y ago
  Perhaps he was criticizing the Nobel committee, not the president?
- vor_ 13y ago
  I see nothing wrong with criticizing him for being undeserving of the prize, because he is.
- phaus 13y ago
  It's not his fault, but a man of integrity would have called them out for trying to give it to him when he hadn't even done anything to deserve it. The Nobel peace prize is pretty much a joke, former recipients include a pedophile and a direct supporter of terrorism. If I were Snowden, I wouldn't want one.
- jmspring 13y ago
  Many who voted for him bought into the rhetoric of change and even some "hope". He has brought things in Iraq to a close, a plus. However, domestically, he has been Bush++ and even amplified the crackdown on whistleblowers. Eric Holder, in some ways, makes John Ashcroft look quaint.
tokipin 13y ago
besides ending the Iraq war, he's done a lot of stuff that is somewhat subtle. off the top of my head: a concerted and sustained nuclear arms reduction effort[1], and the specific way he handled the Libya situation[2]. still it remains that Obama is fundamentally pragmatic, for better or worse in any given issue. [1] good report here: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/46790266#46790266 http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/46790266#46790266 [2] http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-obamas-war-room-20111013 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-obamas-war-...
- salgernon 13y ago
  (I wish people wouldn't downvote things just because they disagree with a statement. Downvoting because you disagree with someone is like putting your fingers in your ears and going blah blah blah I can't hear you and I don't want anyone else to hear you either. I wish people would save votes for comments that add nothing to a conversation. Like this one.)
- FedRegister 13y ago
  He still murders people with flying robots. That's not very peaceful.
  - phaus 13y ago
    You're not representing him fairly, those aren't robots, there are trained killers on the other end of the drones.
    - FedRegister 13y ago
      A robot with an operator is still a robot.
      - phaus 13y ago
        The drones with missiles on them are almost entirely controlled by the human. It's just a plane that's flown from the ground. We don't call planes robots, even when they are on autopilot.

zombio 13y ago

I don't really understand the nobel peace prize, or specifically why Obama was awarded it. I understand being the first black president of the United States is a big deal, but did he personally do anything to promote peace? Or does being black in the white house somehow lower racism, hence promoting world peace?

u2328 13y ago
Wasn't so much about him being the first black President as much as him not being Bush/Cheney et. al. Still pretty premature of them since Obama ended up adopting and ramping up many of the foreign policies that made Bush/Cheney so despised by the world in the first place.
- phaus 13y ago
  But everyone should have known that he was Bush, and he was Cheney. Maybe five of the several hundred major politicians in our country are not carbon copies of one another.
rosser 13y ago
He was made a Nobel Laureate for not being George W. Bush.
gajomi 13y ago
I believe many people (including Obama himself) were surprised by his winning the prize. I don't think race was the primary reason (official or otherwise) behind his being awarded the prize. Among the main reasons for his nomination were "Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a 'new climate' in international relations fostered by Obama" [1]. One pessimistic view of this statement is that Obama was essentially awarded this prize for not being Bush, who was perceived by many in the international community as damaging the state of dialog between nations. Arguably, this could promote peace. The view was not without criticisms :) [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize
jmspring 13y ago
It was awarded, in part, I believe upon campaign rhetoric that was not followed though on. There is something to be said for the crowds that turned out for his first speech in Germany and his most recent. Actions matter.