Wikileaks among nominees for 2011 Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Tuesday that the 2011 field includes 53 organizations and tops last year's 237 nominees. Known nominees also include Afghan rights advocate Sima Samar, the European Union, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, Russian rights group Memorial and its founder Svetlana Gannushkina. "Looking at the long term, we can say interest in the prize is strong and growing along with the number of candidates," Geir Lundestad, a non-voting member of the Nobel panel, told Reuters. WikiLeaks grabbed the world's attention and angered a number of governments by publishing thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables. Its controversial founder, Julian Assange, faces extradition from Britain to Sweden on sex crime allegations, which he denies.
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OpenDemocracy: A summary of what WikiLeaks has uncovered so far. -Staggering