IGNOBEL The Norwegian Nobel Institute has awarded the UN and Kofi Annan the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward "a better organized and more peaceful world." Huh? The official press release also mentions Mr. Annan's rise to the challenge of international terrorism, which I think can be seen best by the election of Syria to the Security Council this week.

I'm glad I looked into who exactly was guilty of this sham before I smashed my spouse's Ericsson in protest. The Norwegians are undoubtedly having their say about how the war on terrorism should be administered. What is interesting is that they speculate on their website that Alfred Nobel originally designated them as Peace Prize-makers over the Swedes because he thought that innocent little Norway wouldn't use the Prize as a tool of power politics. Woops.