WHY SHOULD WE CARE? - AT 11:38 P.M. ET:  The common-sensical columnist Anne Applebaum, writing in the Washington Post, cares for our emotional needs by explaining why we shouldn't care that much about the Nobel Peace Prize:

The Nobel Committee consists of five Norwegians, selected by the Norwegian parliament. In his will, Alfred Nobel, the Swedish dynamite tycoon who thought up this whole thing, specifically wanted Norwegians to choose the winner, apparently because Norwegians, being outside the European mainstream, would be less likely to be politically corrupt. The trouble is that Norwegians, being outside the European mainstream, are also more likely to be eccentric. Norway is a wonderful country and Norwegians have some of the highest living standards in the world -- thanks to their low population numbers and their large deposits of oil and gas – but the last time I was there, I got in an argument with someone over which country was more evil, the United States or North Korea. This being a few years ago, at the height of the Bush Terror, you can guess which side the Norwegian was on.

COMMENT:  Despite the bit of nastiness about the "Bush Terror," I feel much better now.  If people actually knew what the Nobel Peace Prize is, and who actually awards it, news of the winner would appear on page 24.

October 10, 2009