Well, supporters of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte got what they wanted. Filipinos apparently logged on in droves on to the TIME Magazine website and spam-voted Duterte into its “100 Most Influential” list. As a result, Duterte actually topped the readers’ poll and did get a place amongst the most influential in the venerable news site’s “Leaders” category.
Unfortunately for Duterte and his followers, TIME gets the last laugh. Selected to do a write-up on Duterte was César Gaviria, former president of Colombia who, during his rule from 1990-1994 also presided over a “drug war” in his country which, by his own admission in hindsight was “unwinnable”. Gavira had this to say about the controversial Philippine leader…
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“Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now there are 3 million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines’ President, has said. His approach is as ill considered as his grasp of history (more than half of Hitler’s 11 million victims were Jewish).
Equally ill-considered is how Filipinos vigorously campaigned for the spam-vote that got Duterte to this rather awkward position. It’s a bit contradictory to be, on one hand, critical — and even dismissive — of the unfavourable mileage foreign corporate media outfits like TIME give to Duterte and then, on the other, seek their validation in the manner we see now in this “100 Most Influential” circus.
Interestingly enough, Duterte’s arch-nemesis, Leila De Lima was also awarded a peachy position in the “Icons” section of this listicle edition. As expected, her write-up was a revealing one written by former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power. Power writes…
It is a disturbing testament to the current solidarity among strongmen and the global surge in impunity that de Lima’s cause has not been more embraced.
To be fair, Power’s testimonial was short of glowing and rather clinically factual (albeit drawing from the standard portfolio of factoids that serve as input into “news” propagated by mainstream media). Indeed, evident in the above snippet is an admission that De Lima had largely failed to gather significant popular support to back her cause.
The bottom line here is that corporate media will always be on the money trail — specially businesses like TIME whose high-maintenance brands are struggling for ascendancy in the constant din of social media chatter.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
They knew it! It was a trap after all. They knew that diehard DU30’s will want PDu30 to be on Time Mag. And it is the time to pit Devil5 to Du30 internationally. What a clever little devils they are! Next time DDS warriors be one step ahead! Mainstream media = Money!
how much more narrow-minded and crabby can nitwit cesar gaviria get?!! all filipinos did was participate in the survey time magazine made public. no filipino made any demand. brains please!
One has to be a rocket scientist to conclude reasonably that Time Magazine is out to discredit DU30 and prop up De5.
Patrizia.
You are absolutely right. How could voting for PDigong as most influential backfire in the midst of his popularity among his followers? They just voted per survey, so to speak. Sour grapes, anyone? Would it translate to the same idea when 21M Filipinos all over the world installed PDigong in Malacanang?
Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.
Time Magazine is a failing magazine…it is also one of the liberal magazine, that does , Fake News.
Gavira of Columbia, cannot remove the Cocaine problem in his country. It is because most of the Columbian government officials, were part directly or indirectly in the Narco Trade. Cocaine is one of the biggest industry in Columbia. Its trade reach is thruout the world. It is a multi billion dollar industry !
There are many Drug Cartels in South America; and since most of the South American governments are corrupt. This is a real problem of some South American countries… So, Gavira, wrote: “the drug war cannot be won…” , because ,he did not want to win it, during his Presidency. It may had made him rich, and very rich !
Samantha Power, a liberal and an Obama appointee; subscribe to the notion to interfere in other countries. Leila de Lima, whom she is fighting for, is a Drug Dealer and a Nymphomaniac…
Ms. Power should know, what is going on in the Philippines, before, she opens her idiotic mouth. This woman does not know what she is talking about !
Human Rights ? What Human rights… we have the Mendiola Massacre; the Hacienda Luisita Massacre; the Mamapasano Massacre; the Maguindanao Massacre; the Dacer Corbito murder case, etc… these cases are gathering dusts in the files…long forgotten. Why do these people like : Trillanes, De Lima, etc…open investigation of these cases ?
Human Rights for the YellowTards is the Right to Plunder, to Steal, and to murder people…
Do not bite on these “Most Influential People” tactic…they are Fake News of Liberal Mainstream Media !
Duterte is not influential beyond his countries borders, that much is certain. How influential he is in the Philippines is up for debate. I would bet he takes his orders from the Oligarchs as that would explain his backtracking on insults to the American Presidents. Someone must have told him to STFU before Trump has his number crossed off the list, so Duterte STFU and stopped with his idiotic insults..
Why do you care if Delima is a Nymphomaniac? and EXACTLY how did youy figure that out? Did you have sex with her? The Massacre’s you just naed are a blight on the Philippines and certainly nothing to be proud of and now there are 7,500 of your fellow citizens dead because Duterte said he would give people medals to murder people who at least deserve trials and maybe 3 year prison sentences, not death sentences at the hands of an extended version of the Davao Death Squads. the Failippines is a hell-hole, and if you think Duterte is doing a good job, just wait until he makes an excuse up to murder someone in your family, and there will be nothing you can do about it.
Translation: *AUTISTIC SCREECHING*
Hey idiot, which part of the article even emphasized on that bitch’s private sex life? Anyway, she’s gone to prison and hope she’ll rot there for all her corruption in office ; karma begged for her. TIME has long been discredited and not considered anything reputable over the last decade ago. Their growing irrelevancy is due to the internet consumerism. Not even regular Americans today buy their bull crap like hot cakes.
@ NUWAVE So what’s your bloody point? However, I do know he’s better more positively known by China, Malaysia and Indonesia due to his no bull shit take on illegal drug problems as well as not for once being a lap dog for corporate elites, especially from America and the West. As for oligarchs, you must be effin blind and deaf. He’s called out a number of them in his conferences.
Like for example on tax dodgers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIB0mcfbMM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJFQp12Cmuc
You’re either dishonest or a fucking moron if you never know anything where Duterte stands on issues on poverty and oligarchy. Go ask why Inquirer is not paying back their taxes? Yeah, I figure, you won’t even mention it.
Leila de Lima was a former Secretary Of Justice, under the Aquino administration…
To hold such prestigious position, and having sex with several men; some of whom are Prison convicts , was extremely nefarious.
Her former lover, Ronnie Dayan has several videos, of Leila de Lima, having sex with different sexual partners. It is yet, to be released in the internet. If that is not some kind of Nymphomaniac…What do you call it ? The woman is a lawyer, and was a high government official. And, she was acting as a slut !
With regards to Duterte; we cannot find any “mass graves” of the so called 7, 500 murdered people, as his victims…
They may or they may not exist; but just a “twice told tale” in politics. What I know, are the : Hacienda Luisita massacre; the Mendiola massacre; the Maguindanao massacre; the Mamapasano massacre; etc…there are concrete proofs of these massacres.
Davao Death Squad ? They had already investigation in the Senate…Why do these Senators not arrest Duterte, if there is a concrete proof, he really had that Davao Death Squad.
With witnesses, like Matobato, and Lascanas…whose credibility is in question. And, both seems to need a good bath…
The people shouting about this Duterte crime, should file a case in our Court of Law…
@ BAYLEE ,LOL @ YOU, “Duterte has called them out in his speeches…”, and that is all he will do,a li’l PUBLIC SHAMING, BUT NOTHING ELSE and that is par for the course, MORON !!!! ENJOY your WORLD’s HIGHEST ELECTRICICTY RATES, THE OLIGARCHS RUNNING YOUR COUNTRY…..you have no say in anything, just like the rest of the ‘MASSA’.
Duterte is a lap-dog of the elites and its just that you are to dumb to figure it out.
IF HE WASN’T THEY WOULD NOT STILL BE DOING WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THE LAST 55 years and counting….
@ HT: A SENATE INVESTIGATION, HA HA HA, THAT IS AS LAUGHABLE. DUTERTE IS A MORON, THE LAPDOG OF THE ELITES,WHICH IS VERY MUCH SO….
@New Wave:
Duterte is less a moron, than you…you are more of a moron in the worst case. We know, that Senate investigations are political shows.
However, the Drug Lord and nymphomaniac : Leila de Lima is now rotting in jail. De Lima was a former Secretary of Justice, under the administration of Aquino…they are both involved in the Shabu Drug Trade and the Chinese Triad Mafia gang…
We are also glad that the farmers, had taken over the Aquino Cojuango Hacienda Luisita , which legally belong to them.
Next going to jail are the grand thieves: Aquino, Mar Roxas, Porky Drilon, Trillanes, etc….
Little by little the people are awakening, and taking their country back from the Aquino Cojuangco political axis.
Paid hacks, like New Wave are howling to the moon for a fee !