- Who made an outstanding contribution to world peace?
And who committed crimes against good taste? The Independent asked the
year's movers, shakers and troublemakers for their nominations. These are
just a few examples. For the rest of the list, take hyperlink below.
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- TARIQ ALI, writer
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- Hero: Noam Chomsky Heroes are few, but the American refusenik
Noam Chomsky deserves the appellation. His integrity and steadfastness
in the face of imperial depredations is in polar contrast to all the hand-wringing
of pundits, politicians and the belligerati in the face of a naked attempt
by Washington to dominate the world.
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- Villain: Ariel Sharon This unpunished war criminal regards
the Palestinians as Untermenschen (subhumans), orders the killings of the
leaders and the led, and is busy destroying both the social and political
infrastructure of the Palestinian nation. This is an attempt to erase the
political identity of a people who became the indirect victims of the European
Judeocide.
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- YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN, Independent columnist
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- Hero: The Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks Professor Sacks
spoke about many of the deep anxieties that noble and honourable Jewish
people around the world are feeling today about the way that the Israeli
government is behaving towards other human beings with whom they share
their land. It was a very brave thing to speak out, especially for a man
in his position, and he is already paying far too big a price for it.
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- Villain: Colin Powell Colin Powell is probably the first
prominent black American to forget completely the connection between African-
Americans and the oppressed of the world. In that sense, he has joined
the arrogance of the new imperialist United States of America, and he has
failed the remarkable tradition started up by James Baldwin, WEB Du Bois,
Martin Luther King, Maya Angelou and others. In warmongering against Iraq,
he fails his people.
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- RICHARD DAWKINS, scientist
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- Hero: Robert Fisk He is not afraid to tell the truth,
however unpleasant. His serious sincerity redeems the profession of journalist
from the dishonour inflicted by the tabloids.
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- Villain: George Bush This illiterate buffoon cheated
his way into the White House with the help of his well-connected family
and friends. Having dismally failed to anticipate or prevent the atrocity
of September 11, he spent the rest of the day zigzagging around the country
like a jet-propelled chicken. His personal cowardice was mirrored in the
country at large, and he fanned it to his advantage in the mid-term elections,
and now, to foment an unprovoked war that has nothing to do with terrorism
and everything to do with oil. His record on the environment is as appalling
as you would expect. Bush is rightly despised throughout the world, and
it is humiliating that Britain is seen as his only ally.
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- NORMAN BAKER, Liberal Democrat MP and home affairs spokesman
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- Hero: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams
Unlike many in the church, Williams actually appears connected to ordinary
people, ready to accept that we live in the 21st century. He has attacked
the Disney empire. He has broken into a US base to sing psalms on the runway.
He slams the likely war on Iraq as "immoral and illegal". Whether
one agrees or not with him, isn't it great to have a church leader who
is grounded, courageous and honest and who doesn't simply talk to himself?
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- Villain: George Dubya Bush In the name of oil, he shoots
up the environment like a Coke can on a wall, whether it's undermining
Kyoto or ripping up the last of the US's ancient forests. Meanwhile, he
bullies his way around the world, declaring that the US can rip up treaties,
do what it likes, but woe betide others if they don't stick rigidly to
United Nations resolutions.
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- LAUREN BOOTH, writer
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- Hero: Enron For revealing the consumer capitalism behind
the Bush regime, and making the whole house of cards collapse in front
of the world at an embarrassing time. I think they do deserve some applause
for being so greedy - as does the CEO of the US, Bush himself.
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- Villain: Angus Deayton By getting himself sacked, he
has ruined one of my favourite shows, Have I Got News for You. When I saw
Anne Robinson present it, I was tempted never to turn it on again. Deayton
shouldn't have got himself caught. Would I lead calls to reinstate him?
Well, I would if the show moved to a sleazier channel, but I understand
the BBC's position on this. The fact that most of their presenters are
secretly drug-crazed sex criminals hasn't been proved, yet.
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- JULIE BURCHILL, writer
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- Hero: Andy Gilchrist For drawing a line in the sand on
behalf of the overworked, underpaid public- sector workers, at last.
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- Villain: Tony Blair For being a creep.
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- © 2002 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/people/story.jsp?story=364482
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