The Insult Behind Obama's U.K. Codename

Thought this was interesting and wanted to share:


The Insult Behind Obama's U.K. Codename

Before President Obama's arrival in London, The Daily Mail ran a story under the headline "Codename ‘smart alec': British police label Obama with ‘mildly offensive' Punjabi word for visit to UK." Scotland Yard says its computers randomly picked a codename for Obama, "chalaque," for his visit to the country. But the newspaper quoted a Sikh community leader saying the name is often used to "denigrate" someone. Yahoo News then picked up the story, featuring it on its homepage under the headline: "Obama Code Named ‘smart alec' in Britain."

Codename: 'What-Nationality-should-I-claim-to-be-today' would have been more appropriate!

st.

Its a lot better than what the Mexican Americans call him at work..

Thing is, in the UK "smart alec" is more of a cheeky ribbing than an insult. It really is no big deal.

reply to post by PhantomLimb


Well.. the name might be appropriate.
:-)

London: Visiting US President Barack Obama got the date wrong by three years when he signed a guestbook at the Westminster Abbey, despite apparently asking the dean what day it was, a media report said on Wednesday.
As a tough election looms next year and he faces criticism for his handling of the financial crisis, perhaps he wished it was indeed May 24, 2008, when he was still a rising superstar, the Daily Mail wrote.

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It is worth noting that it was also a Cherokee tribe.

The same word can mean different things in different languages and the Mail, in typical form, has ignored sensible discourse for an attention grabbing headline, with the bonus of having a swipe at the US.