[rtpoe]

It’s that "time" again. When TIME Magazine starts considering their "Person of the Year". Usually, these are pretty bland. It’s not without controversy, though. The selection is supposed to be for the most newsworthy person, regardless of whether that worthiness is for good or ill. But when (quite logically) the Ayatollah Khomeni was chosen in 1979, there was such a shitstorm that TIME pretty much caved in and decided that from then on, only "nice" people would be chosen. This led to a complete wimpout in 2006, when the editors picked "You" (i.e. online content creators, commenters, and reviewers) for their People of the Year. Peter Sagal, from the radio show "Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me" was among the many critics of that lame-ass choice. He that if "we" truly controlled the media, "we would have picked a much better choice for the Person of the Year issue." Indeed, TIME’s own online survey had Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez as the top vote getter, with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in second place (I'd have selected both, as well as North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il, and called them "The Defiant Ones"...)

Well, they have their online survey up and running again. Note that the way the survey is structured, there's a list of over 30 "suggestions" and you can vote "Yes" or "No" on each of them.

It's a bit early, but here are the Top 10 "Yes" vote getters so far:

1  "The 99%"
2  Lionel Messi
3  Anonymous (the protest group)
4  Arab Youth Protesters
5  Steve Jobs
6  Barack Obama
7  "The Fukushima 50"
8  SEAL Team 6
9  Gabrielle Giffords
10 Warren Buffett

And here are the Top 10 "No" vote getters:

1  "The 1%"
2  Casey Anthony
3  Michele Bachmann
4  Kim Kardashian
5  Herman Cain
6  "The 99%"
7  Silvio Berlusconi
8  Anonymous
9  Eric Cantor
10 Steve Jobs

Clearly, there's a lot of schizophrenia in the survey...

For me, if I was on TIME's editorial staff and had a voice in the matter, I’d pick “Protesters” in general. (Picture the headline: "We're Not Gonna Take It!") It covers both the ongoing "Arab Spring" movement (which wasn't just young people) and the "Occupy" movement (which was inspired at least in part by the "Arab Spring" (but isn’t going to affect any even remotely similar change in government)).

What's your choice?

[rjdmech]

I dont see my name anywhere on those lists!!.Damit, I am suing!!!!!

[DruulEmpire]

I do like Protesters, but I'd go with SEAL Team 6 if only because bin Laden pervaded the backs of our minds for so damn long.  They marked, one hopes, the end of an era.  Plus, let's face it -- and I think I'm with Jon Stewart on this -- even some of the most pacifistic among us find them way cool, and they're also a way of remembering our military in general.  Somalian pirates, you are warned.   

[sidewalkpsycho]

How come Messi is 2nd? I don't mean to put him down, but I don't really see anything extraordinary he might have done this year. Also, does the average yank even know who this is?

[SwitcherX]

I took myself out of consideration.

[pedonbio]

I took myself out of consideration.

Warren Buffett thanks you.

[pedonbio]

I didn't vote. Chloe Vevrier wasn't on the list.

[brakblake]

I'd go with the Arab Youth Protesters.

[Tenshi]

i'd go with the fukushima 50

[rtpoe]

For me, if I was on TIME's editorial staff and had a voice in the matter, I’d pick “Protesters” in general. (Picture the headline: "We're Not Gonna Take It!") It covers both the ongoing "Arab Spring" movement (which wasn't just young people) and the "Occupy" movement (which was inspired at least in part by the "Arab Spring" (but isn’t going to affect any even remotely similar change in government)).

 

http://www.time.com/time/person-of-the-year/2011/

[rtpoe]

It's that time again.

TIME Magazine is busy preparing its “Person of the Year” issue, and has put up an online poll for readers to cast their votes. It seems that Miley Cyrus is leading that poll, to the consternation of many commenters who cannot countenance her being chosen. They do ignore the fact that the online poll does NOT determine who actually gets the honor – that is left to the magazine’s editorial board.

While Ms. Cyrus is a legitimate nominee (as the person dominating the American popular music scene this year), I feel the honor should go to someone more influential. Like Edward Snowden.

Whatever your political leanings, or personal opinion of him (and keep in mind that the honor is about newsworthiness and influence and not an endorsement or sign of support) may be, you cannot deny that his actions have started a hopefully fruitful discussion about personal privacy in the Internet Age.

Frankly, we *need* such a discussion – not just about government spying, but corporate snooping and the hyper-openness of social media as well. Perhaps, if TIME selects Mr. Snowden, we’ll see some very thoughtful op-ed pieces (at least I hope we will) on what constitutes personal privacy in an era when corporations “look over our shoulder” as we surf the Web, cell phone cameras are always there to record us, and everything we do or think gets posted online for all to see.

[pedonbio]

Frankly, we *need* such a discussion – not just about government spying, but corporate snooping and the hyper-openness of social media as well. Perhaps, if TIME selects Mr. Snowden, we’ll see some very thoughtful op-ed pieces (at least I hope we will) on what constitutes personal privacy in an era when corporations “look over our shoulder” as we surf the Web, cell phone cameras are always there to record us, and everything we do or think gets posted online for all to see.

We had that discussion in 2001-2002, Mr. poe. My side lost.

Then a Black man was elected president, and the press suddenly discovered what it had smilingly agreed to, and shat itself.

[pedonbio]

I should have said our side lost, Mr. poe.

For a lot of reasons I do not share your enthusiasm for Mr. Snowden, but I could agree to a joint cover with Bradley Manning.

[rtpoe]

John Cassidy of The New Yorker agrees with me:

"But Snowden’s claim isn’t merely based on the quantity of news he has generated; his contribution is much larger than that. In opening the eyes of people around the world to how easy it is for governments to monitor digital communications, and to how complicit major technology companies have been in these surveillance programs, he sparked a long-overdue debate about how to preserve privacy in the information age—and whether such a thing is even possible. If Snowden hadn’t come forward, the steady encroachment of the surveillance state would have continued, and most people would have been none the wiser. Now Big Brother and his enablers have been rattled, and have been forced to be a bit more open."

"No Contest: Edward Snowden is Person of the Year", 12/9/13

(not linked to because of insufficiently old people in the accompanying photo)

[pedonbio]

Well, the ten finalists were announced--Snowden, Pope Francis, Asaad, President Obama, Miley Cyrus...

At least there's only one money hoarder on the list, Jeff Bezos.

If they were serious, there's only one possibility, Malala Yousafzai, but she isn't on the list.