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A sociology professor in Sweden has recommended NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize. Snowden will not be eligible for the 2013 Nobel prize, but will be considered for 2014.
Read here: http://rt.com/news/snowden-nominated-nobel-peace-099/
Professor Stefan Svallfors nominated Snowden for his 'heroic effort at great personal cost' shedding light on the expansive cyber-spying conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency. A nomination for Snowden would be symbolic because it shows 'that individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms.' He compares Snowden's act to the rulings in the Nuremberg trials of 1945 because 'I was just following orders' was not held as a viable excuse for the Nazis who carried out human rights atrocities. Svallfors also believes this will help the Peace Prize regain some of respect it lost after prematurely awarding Barack Obama the award in 2009.
Meanwhile, Snowden is still in hiding and is in dire need of a positive acceptance to his plea for asylum in many countries, including Russia and Norway.
What do you think TLers? Is his act of whistleblowing and exposing of government activities an act worthy of winning the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize?
Poll: Does Snowden deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?Yes (1119) 75% No (377) 25% 1496 total votes Your vote: Does Snowden deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? (Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
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United States7483 Posts
If he'd stuck it out at home as an act of civil disobedience so he could actually have his day in court I'd say yes.
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On July 15 2013 23:15 Whitewing wrote:
If he'd stuck it out at home as an act of civil disobedience so he could actually have his day in court I'd say yes.
He'd have disappeared from the face of the Earth had he stayed in the US one second longer that he did.
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On July 15 2013 23:17 yOngKIN wrote:Show nested quote +On July 15 2013 23:15 Whitewing wrote:
If he'd stuck it out at home as an act of civil disobedience so he could actually have his day in court I'd say yes. He'd have disappeared from the face of the Earth had he stayed in the US one second longer that he did.
Yeah, he would have a fate much worse than the guy who leaked info to wikileaks.
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If Obama was awarded it I don't see any reason why Snowden shouldn't get it too, I doubt he would be able to attend the ceremony but it would be funny to see Obama's reaction.
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I don't know what the other candidates are, but abstractly I do think he deserves to be recognized for standing up to our government, which is violating our basic rights.
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
If Snowden were not so popular and considered as some kind of "people's hero" (for example, if some sensitive government information that had implications on everyday Americans had real world effects), would Nobel really accept his nomination? They'd accept it at the behest of the US government. US government on the one hand, popular opinion on the other.
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He deserves it as much as anyone else. It's just a shitty gimmick, it doesn't really mean anything. But, if he wins it will certainly get more attention to the NSA thing and internet freedom, which is a good thing.
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On July 15 2013 23:22 jello_biafra wrote:
If Obama was awarded it I don't see any reason why Snowden shouldn't get it too, I doubt he would be able to attend the ceremony but it would be funny to see Obama's reaction.
This pretty much.
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They shouldn't just give it to him, but also to several people who have done comparable things like he did.
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I can't say I follow matters regarding the nobel peace prize very closely and really what goes into choosing a recipient but I personally would based on my currently not entirely well-informed knowledge agree that snowden should get it.
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Nobel prize lost all value after giving one to Obama so nobody cares who gets it anymore. But if my vote counted for anything I say Yes.
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On July 15 2013 23:28 Nub4ever wrote:
I can't say I follow matters regarding the nobel peace prize very closely and really what goes into choosing a recipient but I personally would based on my currently not entirely well-informed knowledge agree that snowden should get it.
One could say that after 2009 the nobel peace prize was reduced to a popularity contest.
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More than Obama or the EU... The question really is if he wants to be in that company
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The last to get it were Obama and the European Union. I don't see how this prize still holds any value, it's more of a political instrument and even if it wasn't I don't think Snowden promotes peace in any way with his actions.
I don't even understand how the disclosed information surprised so many people, it was pretty obvious already that secret services collected information without consent, you just had to look at Echelon, and media wrote of a NSA supercomputer being activated a few years ago, what were they supposed to do with such capacities if they only could handpick a few suspects with a legal permission? (the NSA lol)
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I don't really think he deserves it. I think what he did is good, and everything, but with respect to promoting peace, I don't think Snowden's info has really done all that much. I'd much prefer the Peace Prize to be rewarded to those who actually put years and years of their live into actively creating peaceful/better societies. Snowden is a whistleblower and a man of great courage/integrity. But he isn't the next Gandhi.
That said, he definitely deserves it more than Obama did.
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He should win MTV Best Kiss award. Seems to hold as much value lately...
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While I don't argue with Svallfors on the Nomination per se and his initial stetement as to his reasons, I do not think he should get the price. While what he has done is very courageous, there are some problems.
The Nobel peace price seems to be some sort of political instrument these days. He even says it himself, "Svallfors also believes this will help the Peace Prize regain some of respect it lost after prematurely awarding Barack Obama the award in 2009".
In my humble opinion, the price should re-focus on other social heroics rather then high-life politics. It's just stupid. Sure being spied on is dumb, but what of it? It's not like we have insane secrets. And assigned and educated personel should be able to handle it (much like psychologists in that regard).
So in the end my point is: Give the price more a humanitarian, rather then a political focus
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Imagine the shitstorm. Obama would probably gave his own award back. Not that this award holds much prestige....
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EPT
