As a Professor in the Study of Religion at the University of Oslo, I have the formal opportunity to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. I have therefore just nominated the People of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the 2026 Nobel Peace Price for their valiant defence of peace in Europe against Russian aggression, which seems not limited to Ukraine. Through their immense sacrifice, the People of Ukraine and their President have kept the rest of Europe safe from Russian totalitarianism and imperialism. They are the true and most noble defenders of European liberty, democracy and peace.
The formal nomination text is as follows:
Through their defence of their own democracy against Russian aggression, the People of Ukraine since 2014 and President Zelenskyy 2019, have helped preserve peace for Europe.
As pointed out by various leading politicians, foreign policy experts, and intelligence reports from various states, the Russian territorial ambitions are not limited to Ukraine but extend to other areas previously under Russian control. The official justifications behind the Russian invasion – the alleged right to reclaim land that at one point has been Russian, the claim to allegedly protect Russophone population, and the refusal to accept the legitimacy of a democratically elected government – are just as applicable for Russia’s relations with numerous other countries.
The defence of the Ukrainian people against the unilateral Russian invasion of 2014 onwards and particularly after the full-scale invasion of 2022, and of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his entire term, seems, consequently, to have helped preserve peace for other European democracies in the most direct way reflecting the values promoted by the Nobel Peace Prize.
In agreement with numerous former Prizes, the achievement of the People of Ukraine and President Zelenskyy is also one of preserving and promoting democracy, as their struggle is one against the totalitarianism and various severe human rights abuses Russia systematically imposes on any territory they illegally occupy
The resistance of Ukraine represents, moreover, a decisive defence of the international rules-based order, as it is firmly rooted in the principles of the UN Charter, notably the right of a people to defend itself against aggression. President Zelenskyy and the People of Ukrainian have consistently called for a just and lasting peace based on sovereignty and human rights, and have shown remarkable restraint in the face of systematic attacks on civilians.
Author: Professor Dag Øistein Endsjø
Congress could stop this madness tomorrow. It could take back control of trade policy and cancel the tariffs. It could bring impeachment proceedings on the impeccable grounds that the president has plainly lost his mind. No one who is compos mentis writes as he just did to the Norwegian leader.
The Founders knew what they were doing when they gave Congress these powers. They were obsessed with the story of how the Roman Republic had ended. They were determined to prevent the rise of what they called “Caesarists”, meaning men who believed that their ambitions were bigger than the Constitution. They knew how difficult it was to remove such men once they were in office, surrounded by flatterers and sycophants.
There was a moment, following the assassination of Caligula, when the Roman Senate might have restored the Republic. Senators spoke movingly of “the mischiefs tyrannies have brought upon this commonwealth, discouraging virtue, depriving our leading men of their liberty, elevating flattery and slavish fear, and replacing the rule of law with the whims of those who govern”.
Had they acted decisively, they might have ended the imperial system. “It would be enough to live a single hour under our old laws,” declared one senator, “the laws that raised our nation to greatness”.
But when news came that a new emperor had been proclaimed, senators rushed to declare their loyalty to him. Rome returned to its dictatorial executive, its obsequious legislature and its bellicose foreign policy.
How many Congressmen today will make a stand for their old laws, the laws that raised their nation to greatness?
🚨NEW: Kerry Kennedy has announced Late Show Host Stephen Colbert is the recipient of the 2025 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for his advocacy for free speech and speaking truth to power.
RETWEET to congratulate Colbert on this honor!
Bruce Springsteen on Trump: “I couldn't care less what he thinks about me. He's the living personification of what the 25th Amendment and impeachment were for. If Congress had any guts, he'd be consigned to the trash heap of history."
RETWEET if you stand with @Springsteen!
How could anybody - democrat, republican or independent - think that this looks normal? Images like these will be held up to future generations as an example of an authoritarian period in our history and it will be a shameful one. Deeply shameful. Video credit to Status Coup.
The shrapnel that hit CHP vehicles over the weekend from Trump and Vance’s military live-munitions demonstration came from this ordnance.
It’s no small thing.
This is what the White House thought was fine to fly over civilians on a major freeway. Thankfully, the Governor closed it.
BREAKING: ABC's George Stephanopoulos destroys Speaker Johnson's lies with a simple fact check on the shutdown: "The proposal does not provide health care for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants cannot buy health care..."
More of this pushback, media!
Federal Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee: “ICE goes masked for a single reason — to terrorize Americans into quiescence…In all our history we have never tolerated an armed, masked secret police.”
RETWEET to thank Judge Young for standing up for our democracy!
The otherworldly Fingal's Cave in Scotland, its hexagonally shaped basalt columns are the result of volcanic activity during the Paleocene epoch, around 60 million years ago.
📽: Verginia Hristova
https://t.co/a4im99nqpQ
President Trump, Jan 20: “I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America. Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents.”
LAURA “LOW RATINGS” INGRAHAM ON FOX HAS A TERRIBLE CASE OF NEWSOM DERANGEMENT SYNDROME (NDS!). THE AMERICAN PEOPLE LOVE ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, AMERICA’S FAVORITE GOVERNOR!!! FOX SHOULD CANCEL LAURA IMMEDIATELY — OR FACE HUGE “CONSEQUENCES!!!” THANK YOU! — GCN