Time Persons of 2005: Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono

By Claudia Parsons
NEW YORK, Dec. 18 — The richest man in the world, Bill Gates, and his wife, Melinda, were named Time magazine's ''Persons of the Year'' along with Irish rocker Bono for being ''Good Samaritans'' who made a difference in different ways.

''For being shrewd about doing good, for rewiring politics and re-engineering justice, for making mercy smarter and hope strategic and then daring the rest of us to follow, Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono are Time's Persons of the Year,'' the magazine said in its Dec. 19 issue, made public Sunday.

Managing Editor James Kelly said the three had been chosen as the people most effective at finding ways to eradicate such calamities as malaria in Africa, HIV and AIDS and the grinding poverty that kills 8 million people a year.

Time also named former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton as ''Partners of the Year'' for their humanitarian efforts after the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, and the unlikely friendship that developed from that work.


http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/reuters12-18-050008.asp?t=renew&vts=121820050512

I didn't know the unpatriotic could qualify for such a prestigious position.

of good things for charity.

All in all, a much better choice than some of the possibilities :)

Which raised a grand total of $11 million.

Two former presidents should have done 20 times that.




Cher

And why aren't the others?? Is that really the cover? It looks like Melinda Gates is looking over enviously at being pushed to the background, and Bono looks like a street thug.

Gates is the richest, so he gets up front, let's make him more important to stroke his ego.
Bono is second, because he's just a rock star, and well, we like money more than music. And poor Melinda, well, she's a female, so she's just not as important as the guys, so let's just make it look like it was an accident that she even got in the picture.

Who in the hell picks these covers? Bad, really bad. I certainly am not moved to go out and buy this magazine.

zalinda

smiling?

Why are Bill and Melinda separated by Bono? Why does Bono look so menacing?

If the Time editors couldn't make up their mind, they should have issued dual "Person of the Year Covers" - half featuring Bill and Melinda Gates, the other half featuring Bono - or at the very least two separate photos on the cover. This is just bizarre.

O'key, I know who Bill Gates and Melinda Gates are. But who the hell is Bono Gates? LOL.

for that joke called MS-BOB. (melinda french/gates was the lead on BOB)

How could I forget....that was the biggest all time flop....didn't help that the future Mrs. Gates was in charge of that program/project at Microsoft....

Cindy Sheehan did more to raise public awareness of the treason, war mongering and criminality of Bush and Company than anyone.

Bill, Melinda and Bono did wonderful things that TIME and the rest of the press corpse could use as side shows.

I think you have to have money to qualify.

Bono, on the other hand, can't stop.

For decades it was supposed to be the person who affected the news the most, for better or for worse, during the year. This choice certainly doesn't meet that criterion.

Upon reflection there's no other possible choice for Persons of the Year!

Maybe in our little corner of the world....

At least they gave the cover to people outside politics.

<eom>

If that's the best they can do, why do they bother?

Now there's a man of the Year -- though the year was 1922.

And why did they stuck him in the middle, like Gates family adopted him or something? Makes no sense whatsoever.

What is it about him that gives me the creeps? He seems like such a whore.

In his megalomaniacal mind, of course, he's just a humble tribune of the oppressed and starving.

But for millions of young impressionable fans, Bono is legitimizing the likes of Bush, Cheney, and even Jesse Helms, with whom Bono famously once prayed and then dragged to a U2 concert. Back in March, Bono and ex-White House-gangster-turned-World Bank-gangster Paul Wolfowitz had "enthusiastic" conversations. And before that, he toured Africa with Bush's former treasury secretary. Net result: the west is no less guilty of screwing Africa, but a few Bushies get p.r. overhauls from the credulous Bono.

All enough to win him Time magazine's seal of approval. Cf. "The Empire Moves and Co-Opts in Mysterious Ways":
http://www.counterpunch.com/okeefe03232005.html

"he is legitimizing the likes of Bush, Cheney et al." He's in bed with some revolting people and I can't help but think that somehow, he likes such company.

Not nice to fool with Mother Nature, don't you know?

The tsunami and the hurricane, right. Has there ever been a news story quite like the complete destruction of a major American city?

The biggest story of 2006 will be will be Plamegate (hopefully even bigger... the conspiracy to build the lies that put us in Iraq) and so the biggest indictee will compete with Fitz for the honor.

2005 saw the most significant climate change from global warming in he past 50 years. This is just the beginning.

I'm glad that "Time" decided to chose someone who is not a inner-circle political player.

Condi, Junior, Rumsfeld and other names were thrown out. Usually, they tend to pick from power political circles.

It's as if "Time" was saying that no one in politics was worthy.

That's how I feel about politics right now. Everything is so hoarked up. No one is playing the game with honesty and integrity.

There are plenty of people, like Bill/Melinda Gates who are doing great things.

They deserve to be recognized.

Tell me they aren't covering their butts by saying nothing.

I remember when they did this honestly and chose Khomeni as Man of the Year. The roof almost caved in at Time.

If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell license to you.

Its nice to see Time magazine focusing on a universal issue like poverty and the efforts to combat it instead of things that are only of interest to Americans.

The Gates foundation is doing a tremendous job of trying to tackle Malaria and AIDS. Bono has given poverty a face.

In the town I live in, we have a token, outspoken freep who works in the produce department of the grocery store. He submits a letter to the editor, spieling his meaningless, jingoistic nonsense about every other week. Last year he was voted as the valley's most "Right Wing Reactionary".
A couple of years back, when Time chose three women as "Persons of the Year" (Enron whistle blowers) he wrote a furious letter to the editor explaining how he felt that none of these women deserved this honor.
What do I find funny about this? I remember, very clearly that his last line in this letter was "Who will Time choose for the next person of the year, -- Bono" !!?
I guess I'll have to take a stroll into town for some lettuce and avocados, and while I'm at it I just might commend him on his prediction.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :bounce:

of choosing Bono as a person of the year.

didnt this guys company break the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, doesnt his Foundation fund mercury filled innoculations for the poor people of Africa. what a great globalist guy.

You can whine about the anti-trust stuff...that was settled. Its not just his company either...there are 60k employees who have a stake.
Not sure about your mercury filled inoculations...do you have any proof of this? If so you should send it to Time and go on the news and show people what horrible things he is doing to children.

did a lengthy bit mixed in with bullet the blue sky. he also did an exteneded bunch of antiwar songs and covered two lennon songs for the closer.

between u2 and the opening act, kanye west, it was a progressive night out.

however, time really has backed away from the idea of 'man of the year,' which was supposed to be the person or thing who influenced the news the most. they chickened out by naming rudy over bin laden and this year, given the tsunami and katrina and rita and the quake, it should have been without a doubt mother nature

If Time had a conscience, they'd name all of these folks and "the Whistleblower" as the person of the year, to bring more attention to their cases and help them get the issues they are dealing with resolved. Colleen Rowley was honored similarly a year or so ago, but that was only touching a tip of the iceberg.

Heck, it was Time Magazine that did help us get rid of our mayor here in San Diego, despite them having Ann Coulter on the cover of the same magazine that named him as one of the worst mayors in the U.S. He resigned within a week or so after that article was published, which appeared to be what broke the camel's back in this instance.

This would also highlight this administration's obsession with getting rid of our civil liberties and government transparency that is affecting us all. If they'd done this, that would have really helped to focus attention on it to all Americans, THE big obstacle for these folks getting these problems resolved.

I'm guessing that our "corporate media" masters might have made sure this didn't happen though! :(

Plame....Women who helped save our Nation.....

:patriot:

I think we are seriously in a global climate crisis that will affect all of humankind (a crisis denied, and actively worsened, by the government of the richest and most powerful nation on earth).

that everyone has no problem with...easy for them to try not to offend somebody...

I'm a massive U2 fan, but he should be on that, too - probably moreso than Bono

(i.e., Time also named former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton as ''Partners of the Year'' for their humanitarian efforts after the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, and the unlikely friendship that developed from that work.)

GWB .... humanitarian efforts after....Hurricane Katriana........

Nice try at trying to piggy-back Clinton's (who wasn't president anymore) tsuanmi relief efforts with *'s (non-existent, when * IS the current president) Katrina's 'efforts'......oh Time mag.....you are sooooooooo transparent and sooooooooo pathetic.

Bow down low to your corporate masters....low, lower.......lower now......

ever since they picked Giuliani over Osama it seems they are using this as a reward or honor rather than what it use to be.

it should have been mother nature this year. but i guess they want to be unpredictable or something.

time magazine "person of the year" has turned into a joke.

so its nice to see them nominated. And Bono has been tireless in his efforts for the poor of the world.
O8)

that so many people at DU do not think fighting disease and poverty are worthy of recognition.

I'm the first to give respect to Cindy Sheehan, and she certainly deserves recognition for bringing attention to this stupid president's stupid war, and maybe she has, in a round about way, saved some lives, but, in my opinion people helping prevent the most misery and saving the most lives are the MOST deserving of recognition, no matter if they might be rich. Who but a rich person could make much of a difference?

but I'll admit their organization is doing a good job. I like the fact that it holds accountability to relatively high standards.

I still don't think Gates is at all sincere since he supported Bush. IF you care so much about the state of the world, then you don't keep mad men like him in power. I also find it amusing that his major giving came when the legal troubles started.

As for Bono, yeah, he's done great things. He's brought recognition to certain causes, but so has Angelina Jolie, and many others for that matter. A celebrity doing charity work is not something new. It's admirable and I'm glad these three were picked over the thugs in this WH (they don't need anything else to stroke their damn egos).

Ultimately all said and done, results are what matter. If these three can and do bring recognition and resources to battle poverty in the developing world, then I don't care about their egos for a second.

:puke: