Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007
Who Will Be Person of the Year in 2007?
Laura Bush
First Lady of the United States and advocate for breast-cancer awareness and literacy
I nominate the Burmese people. This fall the world watched as tens of thousands of Burmese citizens took to the streets in nonviolent demonstrations and their country's military dictatorship responded with violence. I, like many other Americans, was awed and inspired by the courage of the Burmese people, who risked death and imprisonment in their demand for basic human rights.
Chris DeWolfe
Musician and co-creator of the popular social-networking site MySpace.com
The person who has had the biggest effect on the world over the past year is Al Gore. He brought the issue of global warming to the forefront and engaged many different people demographically and professionally. He has single-handedly taken this from somewhat of a fad of the year to the most important global crisis that's facing us today and in which almost everyone is a believer.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Former member of the Dutch Parliament, free-speech activist and author of the memoir Infidel
I nominate Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France. After he was elected, he said, "Every oppressed woman is a Frenchwoman as of now," and we should hold him to that. He is the first European in decades to reach out to the U.S. For the world to be greener and more peaceful and especially for the Western world to stay together, we need a voice of leadership from Europe reaching out to the U.S.
Frans de Waal
Professor of primatology at Emory University and author of eight books
I nominate all the brave biology teachers of this nation who teach evolution despite the opposition they encounter. Without evolution, there is no biology; without biology, there is no medicine. It's as simple as that. These teachers arm their pupils with the knowledge they need, putting them on level footing with the rest of the world, where evolutionary theory is uncontroversial.