Julian Assange On Time Magazine List Of 100 Most Influential People : Video

By Jerry Smith Apr 24 2011
assangewatch.blogspot.com

Time magazine has published it's list of the 100 most influential people, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has made the list.

Google executive Wael Ghonim, who was the face of the popular uprising in Egypt, topped Time's list as the worlds most influential person.

Egyptian politician, and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on Ghonim's page:

"Wael Ghonim embodies the youth who constitute the majority of Egyptian society — a young man who excelled and became a Google executive but, as with many of his generation, remained apolitical due to loss of hope that things could change in a society permeated for decades with a culture of fear."

Click here to read Ghonim's page.

The top ten most influential people in the world according to Time magazine are:

Wael Ghonim
Joseph Stiglitz
Reed Hastings
Amy Poehler
Geoffrey Canada
Mark Zuckerberg
Peter Vesterbacka
Angela Merkel
Julian Assange
Ron Bruder

Germaine Greer, the author of 'The Female Eunuch', and 'Shakespeare's Wife' wrote on Assange's Time magazine page:

"As long as he was an anonymous cybergeek, Julian Assange was a genius. Once he came in from cyberspace and set about the manipulation of media professionals, he was just another source, to be used and abused, diddled and discarded."

Greer also writes that Assange "did not choose to be the face of WikiLeaks; it was decided that since he had less to lose than most of his anonymous co-geeks, having neither home nor chick nor child, he would be it," but Assange has stated that he chose to be the face of WikiLeaks, and he has at least one child.

Click here to read Assange's page.

Click here to read an article on a blog that breaks down Assange's Time magazine page and points out some of the incorrect statements on the page.

Others on the list include:

Joe Biden
Gabrielle Giffords
Michelle Obama
Nicolas Sarkozy
Michele Bachmann
Justin Bieber
Prince William and Kate Middleton
Hillary Clinton
Oprah Winfrey
David Cameron
General David Petraeus
Sting
Arianna Huffington
Barack Obama
John Boehner
Benjamin Netanyahu

Mayor-elect of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel wrote on Vice President Biden's page:

"With 36 years of experience in the U.S. Senate and a wealth of relationships and insight, Biden has been an invaluable lieutenant on a wide variety of issues. And the President has trusted him with some of the most critical assignments, from the $787 billion Recovery Act to the transition in Iraq."

Click here to read Biden's page.

On Gabrielle Giffords' Time magazine page Barack Obama wrote:

"But the reason she has long been admired by people of all political stripes is that she embodies the best of what public service should be: hard work and fair play, hope and resilience, a willingness to listen and a determination to do your best in a busy world."

Click here to read Giffords' page.

Host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, Rush Limbaugh wrote on Bachmann's page:

"I don't mind telling you that I'm a great admirer of Michele Bachmann's. Far from being the fringe outlier depicted by the mainstream media — and all too often by some on the right — she is a strong spokeswoman for unapologetic conservatism. She is neither extreme nor unreasonable, which is why her philosophy has resonated with grass-roots conservatives. She is unafraid to speak out against the crushing debt crisis we face. She is energized, rather than deterred, by the caustic criticism she constantly endures."

Click here to read Bachmann's page.

Recording artist Usher wrote on Bieber's page:

"From the minute I met Justin, I knew this kid possessed a certain confidence that only a star could have. He was born a star. He knew what he wanted to accomplish; all he had to do was get everyone else to believe it."

Click here to read Beiber's page.

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, wrote on Winfrey's page:

"She has not only made it to the top with the cards stacked against her, but she has also made extraordinary contributions to our global community through her philanthropic efforts."

Click here to read Winfrey's page.

Actor and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote on Cameron's page:

"The first time I met David Cameron, I knew we were political soul mates. It didn't matter that he was an ocean away, campaigning to lead a completely different type of government. When he talked about governing for the people and not for his Conservative Party, he was giving advice that applies just as much in Washington or Sacramento as it does in the British Parliament."

Click here to read Cameron's page.

Click here to read Time Magazine's full list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Assange, who is still under house arrest at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk, Britain, will continue to fight being extradited to Sweden at a two day hearing at the High Court in London on July 12 and 13.

Assange has been fighting extradition to Sweden where he has not been charged with anything but is wanted for questioning by the Swedish police about accusations of rape and sexual molestation made against him by Sofia Wilen and Anna Ardin. Assange denies the allegations and says he had consensual sex with the two women.

Assange and his lawyers fear that if he is extradited to Sweden he may then be extradited to the United States, where he could face torture, confinement at Guantanamo Bay, both, or even the death penalty.

Assange has angered the United States with the publishing of leaked embarrassing diplomatic cables, the classified documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the 'Collateral Murder' video.

Video of Wael Ghonim: