You Gotta Be Kidding…Putin Is Time Magazine’s “Person Of The Year”
So Time picks Putin? PUTIN?
What the hell about Genereal David Petraeus? He pulled off the greatest military turnaround in recent history!
What a buncha anti-American pukes…
Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2007 on Wednesday for bringing stability and renewed status to his country.
Putin, 55, whose party recently won a big victory in parliamentary elections, is riding high on an oil-fueled economic boom and soaring popularity from a no-nonsense approach that has restored national pride with a big military build-up and verbal attacks on the West reminiscent of the Cold War.
Here are some key facts about Vladimir Putin:
* Putin was born in October 1952 in St. Petersburg, then called Leningrad. A former KGB spy in East Germany, he rose to head the KGB’s successor organization, FSB, before being chosen as prime minister by the late President Boris Yeltsin in August 1999.
* He took over as acting president when Yeltsin stepped down in December 1999. After a huge public relations campaign to build a profile for the relative unknown, he was elected president in March 2000.
* He has overseen a steady concentration of power within the Kremlin walls, sidelining the political opposition and imposing tight control on the media. This has caused his Western critics to question his democratic credentials.
* He has played to his power base in the security forces and military by fostering a tough-guy image. Before the poll, he told Western governments to keep their “snotty noses” out of Russia’s affairs.
* Delivering on a vow he made when first elected president in 2000, he has crushed the Chechen rebellion for now, though sporadic attacks continue on Russian forces.
* His years in power have been marked by a significant rise in living standards, helped by soaring oil prices, but large sections of the population still live in poverty.
* Two outspoken critics of Putin, journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, were murdered in 2006, raising concerns in Russia about the stability Putin has been credited with enforcing after the chaos of the 1990s.
* Putin, highly popular at home, will not give himself a third consecutive term. But he has made it clear that when he steps down early next year he intends to retain political influence in the country. Dmitry Medvedev was nominated this week as the candidate of Putin’s party for the presidential election. Medvedev, a close Putin ally, was a foregone conclusion after the president gave him his personal endorsement.
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Yeah, and over at Newsbusters they have a piece that says Algore came in at #2, which is totally appropriate, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Okay, we have a man in this country who has liberated 50 million people in the last 5 years, cut taxes to kill a recession and create economic growth with record unemployment lows and record stock market highs, has to balls to take on terrorists world-wide, sticks to his principles, unlike any other politician over the last decade and he doesn’t even get a mention.
Putin is nothing more than a dictator who will never cede power. He has installed himself as “prime minister” so he can pull the strings of his hand-picked successor. It’ll be the Soviet Union all over again within 5 years. New Cold War’s a-comin’ but this time we’ll be fighting terrorists who will be proxies for Iran and Russia.
This needs to end NOW!!!!
December 19th, 2007 at 8:06 amControversy sells more magazines.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:10 amI hear Gore is demanding a recount …
December 19th, 2007 at 8:30 amuh, I would have chosen Sarkozy, even for the peace Nobel price : hehe, didn’t he reconciliate France and US
December 19th, 2007 at 8:31 amWho cares what time mag has to say anyway. That rag has been a leftist mouthpiece for decades. I’d rather read “rolling stones” mag. At least there’s some truth in it!
Besides, Pootin is little more that a butt-wiper..that’s all he’s ever been any good at!
December 19th, 2007 at 8:32 amI agree with Franchie, Sarkozy is a much better choice. At least he isn’t poisoning people with plutonium.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:51 amI voted for Bush twice and might a third time (considering the crop of current candidates) if it were legal and available but there was one time I thought George so naive to be embarrassing. I thought it then and I think it even more so now:
“I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.” ~ George Bush talking of Vladimir Putin
At that one moment after I about croaked, I was with the libs concerning the G.W. IQ factor (but only for that moment).
December 19th, 2007 at 9:50 amNo surprise to me that TIME would name Putin “Person of the Year” They are a bunch of commies—Fifth column indeed. I hope that the American Steeple wake up before it’s too late.
BTW Both TIME & Newsweek Bigwigs play this first thing in the morning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpKRd2xQeq8&feature=related
December 19th, 2007 at 9:52 amThis sure smells like appeasement to me. The left wing just loves to encourage the world’s worst ‘leaders’. Putin, Hugo, Ahmadenijad, need I continue? The media is constantly assuring us that these guys aren’t as bad as they seem. BULLSHIT. Time magazine hasn’t had any credibility for a long time now, but this is ridiculous. I would at least understand if they propped up Al Gore again because it would make sense. I wouldn’t agree with his selection, but it would be par for the course for Time. Controversial? Absolutely. Instead, they choose to feed the ego of a ultra-nationalist ‘president’ who rules his country with an iron-fist and doesn’t even blink about killing his own citizens in other countries. It’s the Russian Bourne Ultimatum, playing out in real life.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:59 am@skip1
THANKS for the link!!! Of late, Glenn Beck and Stu have been having loads of fun with the whole “Comrade Hillary” thing and using this under their radio skits about it. Wasn’t quite sure how to look for a loop of it, but as usual, the Dollard Community comes through!
BTW, did you check out the crazy pro-Commie, revisionist history comments there?
December 19th, 2007 at 11:04 amHey Natalie -
The craziest thing is that where you question the President’s I.Q., he was absolutely correct. Putin IS committed to HIS country and the best interests of HIS country. Hhhmmm, he politically backs up China endlessly while exporting billions of national resources to them — eastern border safe and doesn’t have to worry about a billion Chinamen running across Siberia. Hhhmmm, politically protects Iran then provides them the nuclear fuel they’ve been asking for for years — southern border safe and the islamic uprising in Chechnya and the other Baltic states is now quelled. Hhhmmm, supports former KGB thugs in instigating “pro-Moscow” rallies throughout former eastern bloc countries while simultaneously shutting down NGOs within Russian borders — western border now secure and former breakaway states now forced to look east to Moscow for fear of the pro-Moscow rallies getting more and more violent. Hhhmmm, politically “bucks” the requests of the U.S. then receives increased oil and natural gas orders from the “enlightened” governments of western Europe — government is now financially solvent, flush with enough money to re-activate the Bear squadrons, send submarine fleets out and re-establish the state as the “provider” Russians became so accustomed to.
I just wish he had the same courage his dad’s old boss did and called them to task publically on it.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:42 amWhat else is new about “Times” Man of the Year crap. Hitler and Stalin were elected Man of the Year from this corrupt Magazine! The best way to get Times attention is for everyone not to buy there magazine!
December 19th, 2007 at 12:27 pmC’mon now, guys; Time has always put up whoever(s) was/were the biggest influencer of events and/or newsmaker. Not as a commendation or statement of support. If the Devil manifested corporeally and got selected as the UN’s Sec-Gen he’d get the nod, too, I’m sure.
Notoriety and fame are indistinguishable for the media.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:11 pmTime picks a murderer . . . great.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:21 pmErik,
I you listened closely to George’s comment and the context of the comment, it left you with the impression this was a man (Putin) that could be trusted and that we could work with which I thought foolish; really foolish. At least that was my impression.
But I do agree I wish somebody had the stones to call a spade a spade, a rotten apple a rotten apple, an evil empire an evil empire, or a lib a worthless tit.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:36 pm