Any award that includes such unsavoury characters as Adolf Hitler, Stalin, George W Bush and Deng Xiaoping as it's past winners is always going to be a bit on the controversial side and Time Magazine has not let us down with this years 'Person of The Year' award going to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Cue much harrumphing from everyone who failed to read the part of the award that explains that the magazine aims to recognise the person who has had the greatest influence over world events, not just those who have made a positive contribution.
Putin was hailed for his "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability".
Time said he was "choosing order before freedom", however, acknowledging concerns about his style of leadership but you cannot deny, Putin has certainly dragged Russia back to the big time following its slump during the Yeltsin years.
Personally i would of given it to the runner-up in the shape of Al Gore who not only won an Oscar for his film An Inconvenient Truth and the Nobel Peace Prize but forced the greatest danger we face in environmental issues to the forefront of the political agenda.
3 comments:
I'm still disappointed that they didn't choose me, again. BTW, why are you up so late?
Couldn't sleep, internet wouldn't connect earlier, tried it again while making hot chocolate, it worked, i uploaded previously written but unable to upload posts, drank chocolate, went to bed again.
"Cue much harrumphing from everyone who failed to read the part of the award that explains that the magazine aims to recognize the person who has had the greatest influence over world events, not just those who have made a positive contribution."
Not to mention the ones who will read it, acknowledge it, and disregard it because "they know better." Whatever.
I saw a hilarious statement on the subject - that the award should have gone to the monks in Myanmar. Of course, I sympathize with them, and what happened was a class -A tragedy and outrage, but how did their getting slaughtered influence the world? Has there been a major backlash against the Communist Oppressors? No, there was some hand-wringing and then the Christmas shopping, where we line up to buy goods from the Communist Oppressors, began. So, unless people all over the world suddenly start fighting communism by standing there and letting communists kill them, well, I don't think these guys will be getting an award for being INFLUENTIAL.
Another guy I don't like but could have won this year is Chavez. Having Gore win would have been good mainly for the entertainment value of watching Rush & O'Reilly go anaphylactic.
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