I'M just after mailing my 54th annual letter to TIME giving my prediction as to who will be selected as TIME'S Person of the Year 2002.
The selected person is the one who did most for good or evil during the calendar year in question if evil outweighs good, the evil doer is selected whereas, if good outweighs evil the good person gets it. Last year it was Mayor Guiliano for the great work he did after September 11.
The first person to be acclaimed TIME Man of the Year was Charles Lindberg for his solo flight across the Atlantic.
I got honourable mention in the Publishers Letter for successfully predicting their Person of the Year for 1956.
Now for the year on hand who is going to make it? Here is my letter, submitted on November 1.
Sir, TIME S Person of the Year for 2002 AD must be THE TERRORIST who has constantly held the world to ransom and cast a despairing shadow over the human race.
Yours sincerely, Finbarr Slattery.
Now, 2002 was the year The Terrorist held sway in earnest and the bombing in Bali was the worst terrorist act of all until we had the frightful atrocity in Moscow last week.
Chechnya rebels, making a stand for the independence of the breakaway province of Chechnya from Russia held 700 to ransom in a theatre in Moscow.
About 50 rebels took over the theatre demanding independence, otherwise they would start executing their hostages.
When shootings began Russian troops, aided by some form of gas put in through the ventilator system, stormed the building killing almost all the rebels.
Unfortunately, over 100 innocents perished as well died from gas poisoning. The end result was most of the hostages were freed but it was a very high price with so many deaths taking place.
President Putin took the right action. Whatever rights the rebels from Chechnya had to achieve independence holding innocent people hostage is not the way to achieve it.
