Edward Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

http://www.policymic.com/articles/54929/could-edward-snowden-get-a-nobel-peace-prize

by Suraj-Sun • 13 years ago

111 55 13 years ago

mixmax• 13 years 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.

jmspring4• 13 years 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• 13 years 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.

tokipin2• 13 years 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

[2] http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-obamas-war-...

zombio4• 13 years 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?

rosser• 13 years ago

He was made a Nobel Laureate for not being George W. Bush.

u2328• 13 years 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.

gajomi• 13 years 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

jmspring4• 13 years 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.

cortun• 13 years ago

He was awarded the prize in the hope of influencing him to actually promote peace in the future.

The idea was that accepting the peace prize would have led Obama to see himself as a Nobel peace prize winner, and thus as someone promoting peace, and that he thus would subconsciously actually try to promote peace to avoid the cognitive dissonance.

It didn't work as well as it could, but maybe it worked to some extent.

teddyh6• 13 years ago

I fail to see how what Snowden has done has promoted world peace. The Nobel Peace prize is not (recent awardees notwithstanding) a we-like-you prize. It's supposed to be about world peace, and I just don't see how Snowden has advanced that particular goal. Or am I just dense?

cuttooth• 13 years ago

No, it's not just you. It's completely undeserved.

krapp2• 13 years ago

Obama didn't do anything to earn it either, other than not being George W. Bush.

teddyh6• 13 years ago

I did say “recent awardees notwithstanding”.

burntsushi2• 13 years ago

Anyone who gets in the way of government abuses is promoting peace in my opinion. In Snowden's case, he's released information about programs that are specifically abusing the privacy of the world's population. One hopes that such a release serves as an impetus to curb or prevent it in the future. I think that at least fits my criteria.

teddyh6• 13 years ago

I'm sorry, I still don't see the link between "[curbing] government abuses" and "promoting peace". What is the link?

zombio4• 13 years ago

Well he did take a huge personal risk to promote freedom etc...

teddyh6• 13 years ago

Freedom, yes, but peace?

sleepyhead2• 13 years ago

Well. The definition for the awards it definitively arguable. It states "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.". Which is the basis of why Obama got the award. Apparently he help improve the American image of their foreign polices (without actually improving it). Snowden has done the opposite regardless of what he did the right thing or now (I applaud him). So far the actions of Snowden has resulted in a further divide between countries (US and others). So yeah he does not reserve the Nobel Peace Price. He does deserve freedom and some prize though (not sure which one).

arcadeparade2• 13 years ago

Weakening the global hegemon is certainly a contribution to world peace.

azakai• 13 years ago

Historically, weakening hegemony has led to periods of strife, not peace.

elwin• 13 years ago

Imagine that cyberwar really is a new kind of warfare that is about to emerge. This may or may not be a useful way of viewing the situation, but governments do seem willing to attack each others' infrastructure, causing great damage to civilians in the process. They have also begun using the kind of surveillance that is usually only justifiable during wartime.

If the Internet is being militarized, Snowden has pointed that out. He's shown that the NSA is actually one of the "standing armies" that the Peace Prize rules mention. Now we can talk about reducing it.

I still think it would be a stretch to award him the Peace Prize, but anything that keeps the Internet from becoming a war zone promotes world peace.

scottcowley• 13 years ago

Can you imagine if Edward Snowden was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just a couple of years after Barack Obama? The contrast would truly blow my mind.

Neither are deserving, IMO.

andrewskw• 13 years ago

Awesome, him getting a Peace Prize for going against the president who also happened to get the peace prize. Oh the irony.

pachydermic• 13 years ago

Anyone could be nominated for the prize. It just means some guy wrote a letter to the committee.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prize#Nomination

If I'm reading that correctly, any recognized professor could write a letter nominating anybody.

sleepyhead2• 13 years ago

Who cares? There is a lot of people who can nominate someone for the Nobel Peace Prize. Fidel Castro has even been nominated.

arcadeparade2• 13 years ago

Deservedly so.

unimpressive• 13 years ago

Would you like to elaborate?

"Castro, on the other hand, was convinced that an invasion of Cuba was soon at hand, and on October 26, he sent a telegram to Khrushchev that appeared to call for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the USA." - Wikipedia, on the Cuban Missile Crisis

wikiburner• 13 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Cuba

sigzero• 13 years ago

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. This is a joke right? Right!?!

teddyh6• 13 years ago

That's disgusting.

zombio4• 13 years ago

Oh he didn't actually. It's just one of those overused internet phrases you'll find all the time on Reddit and Youtube.

CurtMonash• 13 years ago

Is there any distinction more meaningless than "nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize"? Nominating a person for the Nobel Peace Prize is like introducing a bill in Congress -- all it takes is one person out of several hundred to think it's worth doing for some reason, and boom! It officially happened.

moocowduckquack2• 13 years ago

"Moreover, despite the national and international outcry that has resulted from the PRISM leak, it is too soon to tell what the real consequences of Snowden's actions will be. This is the same logic that governs the claim that Obama's award was prematurely given. "

No it isn't. Snowden is being nominated for actions rather than just for potential actions. Consequences can take decades.

Edward Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

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