Obama’s Soft Totalitarianism: Europe Must Protect Itself from America

Der Spiegel ^ | June 17, 2013 – 06:09 PM | Jakob Augstein

[Olog-hai]

On Tuesday, Barack Obama is coming to Germany. But who, really, will be visiting? He is the 44^th president of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. He is an intelligent lawyer. And he is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

But is he a friend? The revelations brought to us by IT expert Edward Snowden have made certain what paranoid computer geeks and left-wing conspiracy theorists have long claimed: that we are being watched. All the time and everywhere. And it is the Americans who are doing the watching. …

We’re currently in the midst of a European crisis. But this unexpected flare-up of American imperialism serves as a reminder of the necessity for Europe. Does anyone seriously believe that Obama will ensure the chancellor and her interior minister that the American authorities will respect the rights of German citizens in the future? Only Europe can break the American fantasy of omnipotence. One option would be for Europe to build its own system of networks to prevent American surveillance. Journalist Frank Schirrmacher of the respected Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper recommended that over the weekend. “It would require subsidies and a vision as big as the moon landing,” he argues. …

[Verginius Rufus]

Sadat and Begin shared the Peace Prize for Sadat's visit to Jerusalem. Arguably Sadat, Begin, and Carter should have gotten it for the Camp David Accords instead but supposedly Carter wasn't nominated in time to be eligible. When he finally did receive it in 2002 it was more as a slap at GWB than an endorsement of anything Carter had done--just like awarding the prize to Obama was.

Both Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson received the peace prize--TR for helping to end the Russo-Japananese War. I'm not sure if WW's was for the Fourteen Points, his role at the Peace Conference (that may have happened too late for the 1919 prize) or his efforts to turn WWI into a "war to end war." TR and WW are both questionable recipients but not as much as JEC or BHO.

[HotHunt]

I think in recent history, Obama gets the prize for being awarded The Nobel for lack of any accomplishments at all. Second place would have to go to Al Gore for pulling the biggest scam in recent memory and calling it proved science. For that he gets a peace prize?

Mental illness is best studied by examining liberals. That’s where all of the disease resides.

[riri]

Europe was unique. The timing was just right. The populations, already having a soft spot for "social democracy" and never really having a tradition of freedom anyway were ripe for the complete eradication of any alternative schools of thought. Europe thinks they have these freedoms, simply because so little deviance of thought exists naturally. The only choices are really far left and communist.

If you want to see how little true freedom of expression Europe has or if they implement a surveillance state--let a true, American style, critical of government movement really start to gain traction and show signs of growth.

[Verginius Rufus]

No pope has ever been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (of course the Norwegians are Lutherans). All of the popes of the past 100 years were more deserving of the prize than Obama, even John Paul I, who was in office not much longer than a month.

[GeronL]

bump

[ilovesarah2012]

Lost me at”intelligent lawyer”.