61–70 of 218 posts
Gandhi died before he was awarded the Peace Prize, even though he was nominated five times. Obama gets it less than a year into his Presidency? I like Obama, but that's just wrong.
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And rightly so. You break it you get to buy it. It's amazing that so many people bought in to that stuff under Bush, I always thought that if there is one thing America will forever have to live with then it is Gitmo. Just like the Dutch have their colonial crimes and the Germans have world war II. Some things can not be excused. Keeping people imprisoned without due process is such a crime that history will definite…
To play the devil's advocate... USA has a prison system that is 19th century, compared to the rest of the western world. How much worse is Guantanamo than that? Also, afaik prisoners of war can be held until the conflict is ended. The conflict in Afghanistan is arguable not ended. What I find shocking is the water boarding and sending people for interrogation to places which are really barbaric. Edit: A couple of gra…
Good point, so maybe upgrade the US prisons to Guantanamo Bay standards ?
> Also, afaik prisoners of war can be held until the conflict is ended. The conflict in Afghanistan is arguable not ended.
But it isn't a war. Besides that, even if it was there are pretty strict guidelines on the treatment of prisoners of war. So either they're civilians that have been arrested for crimes or they're prisoners of war. You have to choose and then play by those rules. Inventing new terms ("enemy combatants") isn't going to convince anybody but the most gullible.
> What I find shocking is the water boarding and sending people for interrogation to places which are really barbaric.
This we fully agree on. Even torture can be outsourced it seems. But I think that does not remove the responsibility for it.
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They jumped the shark when they gave the prize to a boastfully-amoral purveyor of warmongering realpolitik in 1973, an unrepentant terrorist in 1994, an ineffective cronyist international kleptocrat in 2001, a self-aggrandizing bigoted apologist for dictators in 2002, and a scientifically-illiterate shill in 2007. Jumping the shark is what they do. I'm not sure its a club the President wants to join, at least not thi…
Well in his defense it's not like he asked for it. Gibbs first response to the news was "Wow". I think they are smart enough to know that far from being a feather in their cap this is a potential PR crisis on their hands.
Let's see if he turns it down. Either way, it's a win-win of him and he'll get plenty of adulation.
I think Obama deserved Nobel Prize. Let us check his struggled Childhood http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama#Early_life_and_career
In contrast, Arizona State University actually withheld giving Obama an honorary degree normally awarded to visiting speakers on the ground that his main achievements are yet to come: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/...
I'd like someone to inform me of one accomplishment of his that warrants his receiving of the award. And pushing a catchy a slogan of 'change,' to get elected, isn't one of them.
Gandhi died before he was awarded the Peace Prize, even though he was nominated five times. Obama gets it less than a year into his Presidency? I like Obama, but that's just wrong.
Gandhi died before he was awarded the Peace Prize, even though he was nominated five times. Obama gets it less than a year into his Presidency? I like Obama, but that's just wrong.
"Gandhi is the greatest enemy the untouchables have ever had in India." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambedkar
Gandhi died before he was awarded the Peace Prize, even though he was nominated five times. Obama gets it less than a year into his Presidency? I like Obama, but that's just wrong.
Yep. It should be a prize for achievement, not for intentions. The Nobel Prize has just devalued considerably.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It does seem awfully fast, but for what it's worth: 1) He banned torture (waterboarding) 2) He wants to close Guantanamo. I know he hasn't done it yet, but it can't be easy. 3) He's willing to negotiate with Iran without pre-conditions 4) He's actually trying to push for a Middle East peace deal, and is being vocal about settlements 5) He wants a world without nukes. 6) He didn't put the missile shield near Russia, s…
> But considering how leaders of Superpowers have behaved in the past, he is unique. Yes, he is unique. As is everybody else. Uniqueness is not a reason to give someone a prize, achievement is. And from where I'm sitting the only thing that has changed is that the American President is no longer making a fool of himself on the international stage and hasn't made the rest of the world wonder if he still has all his ma…