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by dak1 4566 days ago
Agreed. When I saw the link on Hacker News, my gut reaction was that it was probably Snowden; however, I have to say I think the Pope was the far better choice (and I'm an atheist).

He's the first Pope from what is often called the Global South, and really brings a different perspective and emphasis on cultural and economic issues that could have massive implications for the entire world (whether you're Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, atheist, etc) -- reaching far beyond the debate Snowden started.
2 comments
yapcguy 4566 days ago
Are awards being simply handed out for being the "first" at something?

Also why do you think the Pope has any influence on a Muslim, Hindu or Jew? Do you think the local imam or rabbi is busy dissecting the Pope's latest press releases?

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dragonwriter 4565 days ago
> Also why do you think the Pope has any influence on a Muslim, Hindu or Jew?

I'll let a Muslim activist provide one answer to that: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maha-elgenaidi/pope-francis-a-...

> Do you think the local imam or rabbi is busy dissecting the Pope's latest press releases?

Apparently, some of them do: http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20130413/muslims-say-...

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phryk 4566 days ago
He's the first Pope from what is often called the Global South, and really brings a different perspective […]

Oh, you mean like Obama really brought a different perspective as the first black President of the USA?

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