Vladimir Putin named as Time's Person of the Year

[icy manipulator]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=f2UPgXhrJfQ

imo he's a great choice. much better than the winners in recent years. he's without a doubt one of the most intellegent leaders of the world, a strong politician and not affraid to speak his mind. He's a huge step up from the drunk yeltsin, and has done a great job fixing up yeltsin mistake's economically. it'll be good if he becomes the Prime Minister in the next election, and it wouldn't surprise me if he runs for the presidency again in 2012

he's a longer version of the Time interview if anyone's interested.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rFMQz6AN3B0&feature=related

[NoFenders]

I just like the name Vladimir.

:cool:

[drizl]

imo, this was a smear campaign, and judging by the interview that i heard on npr with the guy who interviewed him for the story, vladimir might well have thought so also. i mean, look at the fucking picture they put of him on the cover. he looks like a cold, emotionless killer!
remember stalin was the man of the year too, i think twice!

what is the man of the year? is it recognizing someone for their service to humanity? sometimes, definately not for putin. is it power? sometimes, maybe one of the reasons for putin? or is it to place someone in the public eye...?

its interesting that america chose him (not the people, but the established corporate press, time is owned by aol time warner btw) at a time when he is becoming increasingly hostile-in retaliation- to the us, sending nuclear fuel to iran, investing heavily in large quantities of oil in south america and reacting angrily at the proposition of an american missile shield in eastern europe.

think about it, why was he man of the year?? who chose him?

[Schmeltz]

Man of the Year is a designation that refers to the subject's newsworthiness. Ayatollah Khomeini was Man of the Year in 1979, for example, and this year Hugo Chavez led the online poll. I suspect Putin was chosen exactly for the reasons you listed, as well as for the bald-faced power grab he just put on, manipulating his country's civic and legislative institutions in order to retain power, which has certainly generated considerable buzz.

Putin is a remarkable figure and it will be interesting to see how history judges him. He certainly fills the role of a strong and powerful leader well in a nation with an ancient tradition of that sort of thing, and I think it's definitely true that his authoritarian leadership is largely responsible for Russia's continued influence on the world stage now that the Cold War is over. But you certainly couldn't call his regime democratic. To my mind one of the most interesting stories of the year was the contrast between Hugo Chavez, who graciously accepted a defeat on his popular constitutional referendum, and Putin, who has essentially MacGuyvered Russian law into a ticket for his perpetual grip on the reigns of state.

Perhaps that is what Russia needs - certainly it's what Russia is historically accustomed to. But it's nothing more than show democracy. Shadows on the wall.

[drizl]

i think i read recently that putin publicly announced that he has aimed nuclear missiles at our proposed missile shield sites:eek:

[icy manipulator]

remember stalin was the man of the year too, i think twice!


please dont tell me you're trying to compare putin to stalin?

[Bob]

i was the man of the year once. are you trying to compare me to stalin too, drizl?

[drizl]

man of the year is more than a subjects newsworthiness, just as news is often more than reporting facts. propaganda and the public mind. aol time warner is also deeply involved in the cfr hehe

[Schmeltz]

Actually drizl, as most anyone in advertising will tell you, any publicity is good publicity and Putin, with his state media control and quasi-militant youth party wing, probably knows that better than anybody. So not only does your smear campaign theory stink of more silly conspiracy crap, but it's just plain bad business.

icy manipulator, you seem to have a pretty respectful tone for Putin. Am I correct in saying that you feel his economic policies are strong and his forecful tone on international issues (like the USA's missile shield) is respectable? Because I think you're right, at least to a certain extent. But can I ask you how much you feel that those things justify or atone for what could be called questionable and heavy-handed manipulation of state institutions at the expense of channels of legitimate public discourse? To what degree can the assumption of that much personal power really be called anything but autocracy, or at least not real democracy? I guess is my question.

[drizl]

time warner doesnt need publicity. its a media machine to feed the public.


putin is an asshole, as bush is an asshole, as 99.99% of presidents, premieres and prime ministers are assholes.

[mikizee]

Actually drizl, as most anyone in advertising will tell you, any publicity is good publicity and Putin, with his state media control and quasi-militant youth party wing, probably knows that better than anybody. So not only does your smear campaign theory stink of more silly conspiracy crap, but it's just plain bad business.

icy manipulator, you seem to have a pretty respectful tone for Putin. Am I correct in saying that you feel his economic policies are strong and his forecful tone on international issues (like the USA's missile shield) is respectable? Because I think you're right, at least to a certain extent. But can I ask you how much you feel that those things justify or atone for what could be called questionable and heavy-handed manipulation of state institutions at the expense of channels of legitimate public discourse? To what degree can the assumption of that much personal power really be called anything but autocracy, or at least not real democracy? I guess is my question.

I always enjoy reading your posts, they are well thought out and executed.

I like to think that im semi intelligent but I don't have the knack of putting down my views in such a decent manner like yourself.

[Schmeltz]

Aw. Thanks, mang. Some guys are into sports and girls, I'm into books. It has its ups and downs. :p

[icy manipulator]

drizl watches too much of cnn's bullshit


icy manipulator, you seem to have a pretty respectful tone for Putin. Am I correct in saying that you feel his economic policies are strong and his forecful tone on international issues (like the USA's missile shield) is respectable? Because I think you're right, at least to a certain extent. But can I ask you how much you feel that those things justify or atone for what could be called questionable and heavy-handed manipulation of state institutions at the expense of channels of legitimate public discourse? To what degree can the assumption of that much personal power really be called anything but autocracy, or at least not real democracy? I guess is my question.
schemltz, i agree with mikizee, your posts are superior to 99% of the shit that's posted in the political forum. i have always had huge fascination in russia, whether it be the russian empire, the soviet union or the russian federation. what i have learned is that russia is unique. unless you're russian you cant truly have a proper undrestanding of russian politics. there's a saying in russian politics, the next is better than the last. definitely true when comparing putin to yeltsin. and i'm sure will be true when Medvedev wins the next presidential election.

now, i know Medvedev will be the next president of russia, if you can find a website where can you bet on the next president of russia and i'll my life savings on medvedev. but international politics has two sides to every coin. the 2nd most popular party in the russian duma is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and if they had a chance of winning, no doubt the USA would have a cry about that. from what i've seen from CNN and what not they have a negative opinion towards russian. this vid http://youtube.com/watch?v=MsCMJeov5IA sums up what i think the US thinks of modern day russia.

Putin has corrected a fair amount of mistake that yeltsin made. he has made war against the oligarchs which in can in another other country could be charged with huge amounts of fraud. this is only my opinion but i think the US would to see another drunk puppet leader like Yeltsin than someone who can restore russia to it's former glory like Putin. Putin has the balls to stand up to Bush and is quite frankly is the only one that they have to take seriously. I dont think Bush is an idiot, but he is a backwards thinker, and is truly threatened by Putin. i cant wait to see what the next US president thinks of Putin as the next prime minister of russia

[icy manipulator]

also, please dont tell me this dickhead has a chance at winning the election http://youtube.com/watch?v=E5ENwej0fpc&feature=related

[drizl]

you guys are gay. but thats okay, theres nothing wrong with that.

[icy manipulator]

you are a fuckin idiot

[roosta]

Alexander Litvinenko

[icy manipulator]

lol
you are a fuckin idiot
and let me guess, you think boris berezovsky is a perfectly innocent man too? please. no one gives a shit about litivenko outside of the uk. there is no proof, just a lot of speculation

[roosta]

lol

and let me guess, you think boris berezovsky is a perfectly innocent man too? please. no one gives a shit about litivenko outside of the uk. there is no proof, just a lot of speculation

im not in the UK

you are a fuckin idiot

lol.

you like vladimir putin

[icy manipulator]

hes a better leader than most. id much rather have him as a leader than bush. ireland england, same dif, just a harder accent to understand

[roosta]

ireland england, same dif, just a harder accent to understand

hahaha..so there we go. Attention everybody, you can discount any political, actually, you can discount any opinion icy manipulator has! he's probably mildly if not quite retarded.

glad we settled that then.

[icy manipulator]

yes congradulations, you figured me out. i bet you feel so proud mate

[roosta]

yes congradulations, you figured me out. i bet you feel so proud mate

pretty much

[Bob]

personally i have a hard time telling the difference between england and australia

like geographically, i get them mixed up

[freetibet]

Knock knock.

-A former KGB agent. (I mean look at that murderer outlook)
-Litvinenko.
-Politkovskaya.
-Jukos Oil.
-Chechnya.
-"The fall of USSR was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe in the XXth century." (sth like that)

How little do You have to know about the world outside Yer county/state?

[abbott]

You know it was the fishing with no shirt pictures that put him over the top. I know I always rip my shirt off every time I go fishing with a photographer and it always does the trick.