2011 Nobel Prize to Dark Energy: Explained (Video)
Guest narrator Sean Carroll of Caltech describes dark energy and the acceleration of the universe, the discovery of which was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics on October 4th, from Minute Physics’ YouTube:
WikiLeaks Could Win Nobel Peace Prize
The website that has raised numerous controversies is on the ballot for the Nobel Peace Prize. Via Reuters:
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks has been nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian politician behind the proposal said on Wednesday, a day after the deadline for nominations expired.
Norwegian parliamentarian Snorre Valen said WikiLeaks was “one of the most important contributors to freedom of speech and transparency” in the 21st century.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee accepts nominations for what many consider as the world’s top accolade until February 1, although the five panel members have until the end of the month to make their own proposals.
[Continues at Reuters]
Chinese Call Nobel Prize Award To Dissident ‘Blasphemy’
Hold on, communists claiming blasphemy? Don’t you have to be religious for that? The Nobel committee must really have the Chinese government steaming to use that term! From RFI:
The Chinese government says the Norwegian Nobel committee has violated the Nobel Peace Prize by awarding it to dissident Liu Xiabao, and warns that ties between the two countries could suffer. But many governments and NGOs around the world have welcomed the award.
China dubbed the award “blasphemy” and has blocked reporting of the news on its territory.
Liu was jailed for 11 years in December 2009 after cowriting Charter 08, a petition which called for political reform in China. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday…
[continues at RFI]
A Peace Prize to a War President
BEN FELLER writes on the Huffington Post:
OSLO — President Barack Obama entered the pantheon of Nobel Peace Prize winners Thursday with humble words, acknowledging his own few accomplishments while delivering a robust defense of war and promising to use the prestigious award to “reach for the world that ought to be.”
A wartime president honored for peace, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president in 90 years and the third ever to win the prize — some say prematurely. In this damp, chilly Nordic capital to pick it up, he and his wife, Michelle, whirled through a day filled with Nobel pomp and ceremony.
And yet Obama was staying here only about 24 hours, skipping a slew of Nobel activities. This miffed some in Norway but reflects a White House that sees little value in extra pictures of the president, his poll numbers dropping at home, taking an overseas victory lap while…
