Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize?

Started by Elayne, October 09, 2009, 02:34:34 PM

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Zorak

Quote from: Oni on October 28, 2009, 05:21:28 PM
Then how do you explain lutefisk?

Well... there's no accounting for taste... but to a Norwegian, I'd suppose it falls under the "warm-fuzzy" category?  I'm fairly certain about that, since when you run the spell checker, "lutefisk" corrects to "lovesick"...

As another little aside here, I convinced my wife to have smörgåsbord at the Norwegian pavilion in Epcot.  I was seriously loving the 250 varieties of herring, while all she would touch was noodles and Swedish meatballs with gravy...  Seems the only Norwegian food she likes is what comes from the cafe' at Ikea...

Morven

Mmm, fish.  Just not lutefisk, OK?  I'll even do the rollmops and stuff, just not those.
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Inkidu

Well I've often heard (South Park made it widely know) that Norway is Europe's Canada, and Canada fought in WWI, WWII, and the very start of Vietnam. So Norway has some dirty little wartime skeletons I'm sure.

Switzerland is the only one I've never seen in a war, and that's because people need a place to put their money.

If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Zorak

We've never seen France in a war either  ;)

Hey... as long as we're being ethnically incorrect...

Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?
A: Unknown... it's never been tried...

* Z switches his shield to "France" mode, and begins dodging bullets... He really has nothing against the French either, he just happens to have a collection of stupid jokes looking for an outlet... *

Inkidu

Quote from: Zorak on October 28, 2009, 07:04:10 PM
We've never seen France in a war either  ;)

Hey... as long as we're being ethnically incorrect...

Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?
A: Unknown... it's never been tried...

* Z switches his shield to "France" mode, and begins dodging bullets... He really has nothing against the French either, he just happens to have a collection of stupid jokes looking for an outlet... *
Yeah, even Napoleon Bonaparte, was Corsican... which has always been heavily Italian. In fact, he hated French cooking so much, he brought in his Italian chef... which as it turns out cooked French.

"No French man has ever won a war for France." -Unknown. 
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thebobmaster


Quote from: Spookidu on October 28, 2009, 07:27:12 PM
Yeah, even Napoleon Bonaparte, was Corsican... which has always been heavily Italian. In fact, he hated French cooking so much, he brought in his Italian chef... which as it turns out cooked French.

"No French man has ever won a war for France." -Unknown. 

*cough cough* WWI... *cough* *cough*
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Inkidu

Quote from: thebobmaster on October 28, 2009, 07:28:02 PM
*cough cough* WWI... *cough* *cough*
Um... they... they didn't win that one on their own. Not by a long shot.

*Holds up his history book like a shield*
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Sasha

#82
QuoteAnd as an aside - anyone who believes the media is "curtailed" hasn't been watching FOX News   

Actually ...FOX News is one of the few networks I do listen and or watch. Along with John  Glen Beck or whatever the man's name is my son in law watches now ...

QuoteYou should note that the entire 1.4 million was immediately given to charity, not placed in his pockets.  So, whether one deserves it or not, the opportunity to take 1.4 million and give it to those in need seems silly NOT to do.

To be honest the last time I listen to anything regarding this they had just spoke of the dollar amount that was handed out . I have NO IDEA  what the man did with the money, if he gave it to charity ..wonderful. Hopefully some of it went to a food pantries since most of them are running out of food and supplies to hand out to families that are barely making it working minimum wage jobs or living on unemployment.


Since I am visiting family at this time and spending more time doing family things ...I could care less about the news. Though I will look into what charities he supported with the money as it might be interesting.

thebobmaster

Quote from: Spookidu on October 28, 2009, 07:30:06 PM
Um... they... they didn't win that one on their own. Not by a long shot.

*Holds up his history book like a shield*

I misquoted. I was trying to quote the guy who said that we had never seen France in a war.
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Zorak

Quote from: thebobmaster on October 29, 2009, 07:32:33 PM
I misquoted. I was trying to quote the guy who said that we had never seen France in a war.

Oh... that was me.  And I stand by it.  They've been IN wars, just never really "fought" in them  ::)

Morven

Just because French-bashing Just Bugs Me, I'll note that the French did a huge amount of fighting and a huge amount of the dying in that war; 1.4 million French military deaths, and an overall death toll of over 4% of their population.

While the 117,000 American deaths in World War I are not insignificant, they put the lie to the common US belief these days that the US just walked in and won everything. 
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Rhapsody

Quote from: Spookidu on October 28, 2009, 07:27:12 PM
Yeah, even Napoleon Bonaparte, was Corsican... which has always been heavily Italian.

... You know that Corsica is, strictly speaking, a part of France, right?
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Zorak

Quote from: Morven on October 29, 2009, 11:43:52 PM
Just because French-bashing Just Bugs Me, I'll note that the French did a huge amount of fighting and a huge amount of the dying in that war; 1.4 million French military deaths, and an overall death toll of over 4% of their population.

While the 117,000 American deaths in World War I are not insignificant, they put the lie to the common US belief these days that the US just walked in and won everything.

And like I said, I have a lot of respect for France, the people, and culture, and I don't minimize the grief they've gone through over the years.

As for the "common US belief" that we just "walked in and won everything", lets just say, that if we stayed on our side of the ocean, all of Europe would be speaking German right now.  So were we the deciding factor?  YES.  Was it mostly US and British troops that were slaughtered as they stormed the beaches at Normandy?  YES.  Was it the US military leadership and planning that lead to victory in WWII?  YES.  So pardon me if do support that statement, with the exception of "walked in".  I prefer, "marched in, and with great sacrifice" won everything ;)

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HairyHeretic

I believe folks that you're arguing two separate wars there.
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Morven

Yes, Zorak; I was responding to previous posts about World War I.  There's little doubt that without US involvement in the Second World War, the map of Europe would have been rather different.  Britain may have kept its independence (that would largely depend on whether Britain still received material assistance from the US through Lend-Lease etc.) and if it had, would probably have eventually have had to sign a peace treaty with the German Empire.

Hitler would still have gotten bogged down in Russia, I think.  Without American assistance to Russia, they'd have had it a little harder, but I still don't think it'd have been a walk-over for the Germans.  Possibly it would have ended in a World War One-type bloody stalemate, or perhaps the Russians would eventually, with an even more incredible loss of life, eventually turned the Germans out of Russia.

Then there's the question as to whether the Pacific War would have still happened.  Quite likely.  Japan didn't attack Pearl Harbor out of solidarity with the Germans; they did it to cripple US sea power until their conquests were a fait accompli.  Perhaps, if the Germans hadn't pre-emptively declared war on the US in solidarity with the Japanese, US public opinion might have decided against a European distraction.  Who knows.

History what-ifs are fun.

However, what I was ranting about was the American notion that, because the US was instrumental in turning the tide of the European war in 1942-45, the First World War must have just been a prequel with the same dynamics.  And that the rapid conquest of France in 1939 was entirely due to French cowardice, which must be a historic, and doubtless genetic, trait of the French.

What happened to France in World War 2 can be entirely explained by the experience of World War One, the devastation it wrought, the death toll and injuries it caused.  France wanted to make sure that any future war didn't occur within France itself, so it put all its resources into defensive works, e.g. the famous Maginot line, and encouraged its neighbors to do the same.  Unfortunately those smaller neighbors didn't quite fortify to the same degree. 

And once the Germans had bypassed the French defenses, it's not entirely surprising that France didn't decide to die rather than admit defeat, given the slaughter of the last War.  At that point, defeat was inevitable.  The French had had their fill of death, and unlike the British and Germans, the horrendous death toll of the First World War happened in their own country, not in some foreign land.  They got to see it first-hand, got to bury the dead and try and rebuild the destruction.
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Inkidu

Quote from: Dirge on October 30, 2009, 12:26:13 AM
... You know that Corsica is, strictly speaking, a part of France, right?
Technically yes, but I got laughed at by a Corsican when I brought it up in a conversation at college.
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Vekseid

Quote from: Odin on October 14, 2009, 02:19:16 AM
Remember it was his home town up for the bid and he's not the first president to do that. I mean seriously, most of the complaining you're hearing is stuff that other presidents do and it gets ignored. People are being far too critical.

They're being critical of entirely the wrong things. Peace Prize? Chicago bid? Where are the complaints over Obama's continued support of the PATRIOT act? Of all of Obama's so-far broken promises, that is one of the worst. And as far as I can read it, the only one of

There is actually a wing of the Republican party (plus a few democrats) that does not consider the facts - or truth - to be relevant. Spurred on of course by a network that managed to successfully sue for the right to knowingly lie and call the result news (Jane Akre and Steve Wilson).

I hope Hoffman wins NY-23, there are a lot of conservative concerns I want to support, but they take a back seat to the need for transparency and economic recovery.

Quote from: Sashina
I don't agree on many of his policies ..however he is the president and I do try and support him and pray for him. I wouldn't want the job. I age fast enough just trying to get through figuring out how to put food on my table and keep my nose above the rising cost of everything.

You should watch this. She's now the Congressional Oversight Panel chair.


Inkidu

I thought politicians' promises were understood to be breakable? Good points to mention though.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.