Person of the Year

I just finished reading about Time's person of the year Vladimir Putin. And I must say I misjudged the man. I decided to dedicate this post to some of the interesting things said by Putin and the rest of the runners up for Person of the year.One of the most interesting parts of the article was the reason Putin was chosen. "TIME's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor. It is not an endorsement. It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership. Putin is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat in any way that the West would define it. He is not a paragon of free speech. He stands, above all, for stability—stability before freedom, stability before choice, stability in a country that has hardly seen it for a hundred years."

Putin also showed an side of him I had heard about but never knew any first hand accounts about until reading about his interview. He gives some interesting advice to Americans, some advice that has been taken very seriously by several Ron Paul fanatics, but not many others.

"He says he wants Russia and America to be partners but feels the U.S. treats Russia like the uninvited guest at a party. "We want to be a friend of America," he says. "Sometimes we get the impression that America does not need friends" but only "auxiliary subjects to command." Asked if he'd like to correct any American misconceptions about Russia, Putin leans forward and says, "I don't believe these are misconceptions. I think this is a purposeful attempt by some to create an image of Russia based on which one could influence our internal and foreign policies. This is the reason why everybody is made to believe...[Russians] are a little bit savage still or they just climbed down from the trees, you know, and probably need to have...the dirt washed out of their beards and hair." The veins on his forehead seem ready to pop."

Throughout the article it is very clear that Putin wants Russia and U.S. to be friends, but he also wants respect and the U.S. to stay out of his business. In fact he thinks the US should stay out of everyones business, as shown when he spoke out against the Iraq war.

Putin strongly opposed America's invasion of Iraq and established Russia as a steady voice of opposition to Bush's adventure, demanding that decisions on Iraq be made at the U.N. (where Russia, of course, has Security Council veto power). America's occupation of Iraq has affirmed Putin's sense that he was right. "If one looks at the map of the world, it's difficult to find Iraq, and one would think it rather easy to subdue such a small country," Putin tell us. "But this undertaking is enormous. Iraq is a small but very proud nation." The debacle in Iraq plays into what is perhaps Putin's most cherished foreign-policy dictum: that nations shouldn't interfere in one another's affairs. And what that really means, of course, is that no one should interfere in Russia's affairs.

It has been very clear what happens to people who have been interfering with Russian affairs.
"His government has shut down TV stations and newspapers, jailed businessmen whose wealth and influence challenged the Kremlin's hold on power, defanged opposition political parties and arrested those who confront his rule. Yet this grand bargain—of freedom for security—appeals to his Russian subjects, who had grown cynical over earlier regimes' promises of the magical fruits of Western-style democracy."

"Dmitri Muratov also knows the difficulties of life in the Putin era. A softspoken, heavyset man whose neatly trimmed beard is turning gray, Muratov is the editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta, a Moscow newspaper, published twice a week, with a reputation for pursuing tough investigative pieces. In the past seven years, three of his journalists have been murdered; all were looking into corruption and wrongdoing. After the third murder, Muratov decided to close the 14-year-old paper to avoid putting any other journalist at risk. But his staff talked him out of it. The paper is perpetually harassed by officials around the country, but, Muratov notes with a weary smile, "we're still alive."

The last of Muratov's journalists to die, Anna Politkovskaya, was shot in the elevator of her apartment building last year on Oct. 7. Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB officer turned government critic living in London, accused Putin of sanctioning the killing. Within weeks, Litvinenko himself was dead too, killed by radiation poisoning from a mysterious dose of polonium 210. (Britain wants to charge a former KGB officer, Andre Lugovoy, who has just been elected to Russia's parliament, with the killing. He denies it, and Russian law prevents the extradition of Russian citizens.)

Muratov, for his part, doesn't know who ordered his journalists' killings. He says only that he blames "corruption," which has flourished during Putin's eight years."

Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the joke in Russia about Bush and Putin.

Putin and Bush are fishing on the Volga River. After half an hour Bush complains, "Vladimir, I'm getting bitten like crazy by mosquitoes, but I haven't seen a single one bothering you." Putin: "They know better than that."

But as Time said for good or evil Putin is bound to continue having a profound effect on the lives of Russians, and also the world.

A glance at some of the runners up.

So anyone who knows me knows how big of a player Ron Paul has been in my life this past year. And TIME wasn't the only group who put him as one of the most influential people. But love him or hate him his campaign will have ripple effects in politics for years to come.

Speaking of unexpected political successes, how about Bobby Jindal! Here is my prediction 2016 Bobby will be the first Indian president.

It's hard not to be moved when hearing the story of the monks from myanmar. Governments can oppress, but even the least violent of people can make a difference for change.

Now I have never been a big fan of the French. But when I hear the President of France talking about free trade, cutting government subsidizes, and privatizing industries I want to yell out Viva la France! (actually considering how many times I have seen this guy in the head lines this year I was really surprised that he wasn't named person of the year).

Who would have guessed that a band like Radiohead would make Time's list? But actually a better question is who can guess what kind of impact they will have on the future of Music Marketing? I have to tip my hat to them for being one of the only (if not the only) bands to embrace technology and show trust in their fans.

Last words

Time also included a list of influential people who passed away this year. And here are some quotes to remember them by.
Evil Knievel
"That which did not kill Knievel — as he proved more literally than most — only made him, and his myth, stronger."

Madeleine L' Engle
"If the book will be to difficult for grownups, then you write it for children."

Norman Mailer
"There are two kinds of brave men: those who are brave by the grace of nature, and those who are brave by an act of will."

Kurt Vonnegut
"We are what we pretend to be," he warned in the intro to his novel Mother Night, "so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

6 million dollar man!

Well I have had a few technical difficulties with my latest interviews. But meanwhile things have been going crazy on the election trail. Most notably was the latest money bomb dropped by Ron Paul supporters. In a recent PBS interview the reporter mentioned that unlike other candidates Ron Paul doesn't give out task on the campaign trail, he gives out power. She then asked him if he thought that was risky. "Freedom is always risky" he mentioned that he runs his campaign the same way he would run the white house giving freedom back to the people. Perhaps his fund raising success is just a small indication of how successful he will be in office.