OT - is anyone here a "protester"?

[Beninator]

I might remind you that those were not protesters, Ben -- those people were celebrating the already FALLEN Communist regime and thus they were free to climb on that wall that they'd have been shot down for doing a few weeks earlier..

the story of what led to them being able to climb on and mock the Berlin wall is lengthy but has virtually NOTHING to do with "protesting"...and just about everything to do with the USA beating them with technology, military might, and a better economic system

So are you saying that the civil unrest in the GDR in 1989 had nothing to do with the GDR government relaxing the standards which led to the demise of the Berlin Wall??????? What were the East Germans supposed to do at that time? Wait around and see if they could travel to the West? The protests certainly played a part in pressuring the GDR government.....

[tornado]

I am sure some people will claim so but the true history of what happened shows otherwise...
people had protested the Berlin Wall for 28 straight years - so I hardly doubt a few protests in early 1989 were having much of any different effect than all those other protests...

BUT -- numerous eastern bloc governments (other than Germany) were collapsing economically, politically, and socially...Poland had FREE labor unions...and people were chomping at the bits for more freedoms...
...and then starting with Hungary early in 1989 the govt. officials made the fateful decision to open borders and allow people to pass - overriding concerns from Russia & elsewhere.
- the government began to just let people cross freely setting into action a sequence of the same things happening elsewhere, then finally in Berlin...

If you are going to credit the "protests" in Berlin which occurred later, then how did they have the effect we saw in Hungary & Czech?

If people want to believe the protests felled the Berlin Wall - then I won't try to dissuade them - it's nice story - BUT it was gonna fall anyway and was already halfway fallen when the protests accelerated - just read the numerous histories available.

But even if going back over 20 years allows you to find an example of protests paying off, then it still supports my point, that current ARAB & Occupy protests haven't achieved anything of lasting value yet - and in time we may see that they may possibly yield undesired future effects, as was experienced by the progeny of those 1917 Russian protesters.

[tornado]

BTW -- keep in mind that these people are protesters, too-- so I guess Time Mag thinks they're doing a great job for the world as well...

-Some Arab protesters killed, burned, and even raped innocent people

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2011/01/27/news/photos_stories/EGYPTPROTEST_125947--300x300.jpg

-some Occupy protesters attacked and raped innocent women

http://thefeministwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image.jpg

-some protesters simply don't like a given judge's or jury's decision so they go wild and set things on fire

http://www.prisonplanet.com/images/june2010/280610top.jpg

-how about those who protest at cemeteries with such a hateful message?

http://brotherpeacemaker.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/westboro1.jpg

-then believe it or not - there are a whole lot of protesters who are of this type and I guess they win this Man of the Year award, too...

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkkk2.jpg

-then I saw a bit the other nite on a few protesters in Europe where a bunch of women stripped down and went topless to make their point -- so I guess in some weird fashion, those women also are Time's MAN of the YEAR, right??
(I won't give a link because it'll get deleted)

I am not alone in thinking that "The Protester" is a really ignorant choice and poorly thought out
given that they apparently include all the silly variants of protesters that I have cited..

[sousaman2089]

BTW -- keep in mind that these people are protesters, too-- so I guess Time Mag thinks they're doing a great job for the world as well...

-Some Arab protesters killed, burned, and even raped innocent people

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2011/01/27/news/photos_stories/EGYPTPROTEST_125947--300x300.jpg

-some Occupy protesters attacked and raped innocent women

http://thefeministwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image.jpg

-some protesters simply don't like a given judge's or jury's decision so they go wild and set things on fire

http://www.prisonplanet.com/images/june2010/280610top.jpg

-how about those who protest at cemeteries with such a hateful message?

http://brotherpeacemaker.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/westboro1.jpg

-then believe it or not - there are a whole lot of protesters who are of this type and I guess they win this Man of the Year award, too...

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkkk2.jpg

-then I saw a bit the other nite on a few protesters in Europe where a bunch of women stripped down and went topless to make their point -- so I guess in some weird fashion, those women also are Time's MAN of the YEAR, right??
(I won't give a link because it'll get deleted)

I am not alone in thinking that "The Protester" is a really ignorant choice and poorly thought out
given that they apparently include all the silly variants of protesters that I have cited..

Just count to 10 and everything will be alight.

[tornado]

I gotta go out and protest something so I feel honored by Time & Ted Turner..

[Beninator]

I gotta go out and protest something so I feel honored by Time & Ted Turner..

Ok, you can join me and we can occupy Peoria! Protesting and questioning the status quo is in my DNA going back to this relative of mine which is perhaps a reason some of my ancestors came to America!

[DUBulldog]

BTW -- keep in mind that these people are protesters, too-- so I guess Time Mag thinks they're doing a great job for the world as well....

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think Time's "Man of the Year" has ever been meant to honor the person who did a great job, or did the best things.....it's been the person, or people, who have dominated the news, for reasons good or bad.

I don't equate Time giving this award to "protestors" to be an endorsement of them.

[ChewaBrave]

Exactly, it is about influence, and 'newsworthiness' (yeah awesome word), not about good/evil, not about endorse or condemn.

Does anyone have any groups/things/individuals they would throw out there for their own person of the year?

[ChewaBrave]

BUT -- numerous eastern bloc governments (other than Germany) were collapsing economically, politically, and socially...Poland had FREE labor unions...and people were chomping at the bits for more freedoms...
...and then starting with Hungary early in 1989 the govt. officials made the fateful decision to open borders and allow people to pass - overriding concerns from Russia & elsewhere.
- the government began to just let people cross freely setting into action a sequence of the same things happening elsewhere, then finally in Berlin...

If you are going to credit the "protests" in Berlin which occurred later, then how did they have the effect we saw in Hungary & Czech?

The past doesn't have all that much to do with the time person of the year, especially dating that far back - but you would be hard pressed to make an argument that protesters didn't play a role in those places. The CZ had several such episodes - the organization and recognition of the 'Solidarity' movement in Poland was heavily based on protests and strikes - the Hungarians always hated the soviets, and took every opportunity to protest, they still celebrate the beginning of their 1958 revolution against the soviets that grew out of student protests.

It is distinctly possible I'm missing something, but I have a hard time thinking of anything more influential this year than protesters.

[sousaman2089]

TIME is also probably trying to stir up controversy and sales anyways, no one reads this magazine anymore. Sales for that paper has fallen over 50% over the past two years or so.

[AE Braves Fan]

Time magazine is a joke and a waste of trees.

This award is about as meaningless as the Nobel Peace prize.

That is all.

[Chico]

Time magazine is a joke and a waste of trees.

This award is about as meaningless as the Nobel Peace prize.

That is all.

+1

[Da Coach]

Newsweek is even worse. It once was a superb news magazine with great coverage of world and national news. Now it is an absolute joke.

[sousaman2089]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16324644

Even more protests, in Russia of all places. It would really interesting to see a Russia without Putin, but then again, Russia has always had leaders who seized power for long periods of time. Even before Communism, Russia has had a large line of rulers who stayed in power for too long.

[tornado]

If so - Time Magazine has honored you as Person of the Year
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-ne...n-of-the-year/....

The very "persons" who Time Mag had chosen to honor as the "Person of the Year have turned on us...and shown themselves to be sub-human scum who have no sense of decency or civility...
Nice job Time - I think it amplifies how short sighted they were - maybe let's give the "protesters" the Nobel Peace Prize this year??

These "scum" and not
"disenfranchised young adults who are frustrated with a lack of political power and a flailing economy".....as Time describes them....

They are selfish, fanatic, kill-at-all-costs zealots who believe anyone who thinks differently than them is "Satan" and must be eliminated...

Is it any wonder that all the Time's, CNN's, and top politicians in the US are suddenly saying they are totally surprised and taken off-guard by these happenings,
when almost everyone else down to the street sweepers and janitors knew full well this was coming and those people have an irrational hate for us and cannot be dealt with like reasonable human beings.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-12/news/sns-rt-us-libya-ambassador-assaultbre88c02q-20120912_1_libyan-officers-rocket-attack-qaeda

http://www.newser.com/article/da1952pg0/caught-off-guard-by-libya-attack-us-braces-for-more-violent-fallout-from-anti-muslim-film.html

http://world.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=232256&cid=0

none of this surprises me or catches me off guard...and shouldn't surprise anyone who was alive in 1979 when our Iranian embassy was attacked....
how come politicians can think they will behave according to common human civility - they never have before...