Rants and Raves

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Monday, October 15, 2007

My crackpot theory about Al Gore's Nobel

The fact that Al Gore got a Nobel Peace Prize for promoting a scientific theory that rests on... shall we say, less than rigorous science, has come as no surprise to anyone.

The list of recipients over the past generation reads like a rogue's gallery of crackpots, frauds and terrorists. So what's one more crackpot theory advanced by someone with no scientific education or evident grasp of scientific method? That's why it's the "Peace Prize" and not the Physics prize.

So OK, I love a crackpot theory as much as anyone and I've got my own about Mr. Gore's prize.

Of course it's a political statement. We know the peace loving Swedes love to take a slap at American imperialism, aggression, warmongering etc, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

But what if it's also a slap at Bill Clinton?

Now I'm sure they have nothing against anything Bill Clinton did or said while he was in office. And we all remember that the most frequent visitor to the White House during his administration was Nobel Laureate Yassir Arafat.

But - it was rumored a while ago that Clinton was actively lobbying for a Nobel Peace Prize, and that is absolutely Not Done. Swedes are actually known for being pretty stuffy about etiquette, and not likely to overlook a gaffe like that.

We also know that relations between the Clintons and the Gores are, shall we say, strained.

So... I won't call it an 'inconvenient truth' but as a theory it kind of gives me global warm fuzzies.

Cross-posted: http://humanevents.com/rightangle/index.php?p=25158

2 Comments:

  • At 7:19 AM, Blogger History Snark said…

    I thought it was the Norwegians...? Or am I completely nuts?

    Hmm. Just did a Wikipedia search, and while Nobel himself was a Swede, the prize is awarded in Norway.

     
  • At 9:48 AM, Blogger Steve said…

    Hmmm, just looked it up and see that the prizes are awarded in Stockholm - with the exception of the Peace Prize, which is given in Oslo.

    How'd that happen?

    Norway gained independence from Sweden in 1905, so was Nobel a Swede, or a Norwegian who was born a citizen of Sweden?

     

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