Continuing my end-of-year wrap up ...
Top 5 news events of 2007 (global):
- The extended campaign for the US Presidency - both the Republicans and the Democrats have been campaigning all year, dominating the domestic agenda and reminding everyone that George W Bush is now a lame duck President.
- The Surge - a last ditch attempt to salvage something out of the mess in Iraq seems to have had some success.
- The assassination of Benazir Bhutto - Pakistan has been volatile all year and the events of the last few days only increase the instability in the region.
- Protests in Burma and around the world - the saffron protests captured the imagination and highlighted Burma's military junta and its opposition to pro-democracy forces.
- The Virginia Tech tragedy - a modern massacre, complete with the obligatory YouTube video.
Top 5 people of 2007 (global) - the people who mattered, not necessary the "best" people of 2007:
- Hu Jintao - the Chinese leader has seen China grow from strength to strength this year, and the Olympics in 2008 is shaping up as a wonderful showcase for modern China.
- Mahmoud Ahrmadinejad - from speaking at Columbia University to plans to use nuclear power to calling for the dissolution of Israel, he is one of the most vocal critics of the United States.
- Barack Obama - although he is unlikely to win the nomination of the Democratic Party, he has reinvigorated the party and raised the tone of the primary season.
- General Petraeus - the US General responsible for implementing The Surge.
- Al Gore - continues to put climate change on the international agenda, and by staying out of the US Presidential primary race his legacy as an international statesman is secure.
Top 5 Australian news events of 2007:
- The Labor Party wins the Federal Election - without a doubt the biggest Australian story this year.
- The Chaser and APEC - a typical prank from The Chaser gang made news all over the world.
- David Hicks returns to Australia and is now walking free.
- The Geelong Cats win the AFL Premiership - the Cats dominated all year and deserved to win their first premiership since 1963.
- Peter Beattie and Steve Bracks resign - State Premiers (unlike the Prime Minister) know when it is time to stand aside.
Top 5 Australians of 2007:
- Kevin Rudd - Kevin07 ran a strong campaign for the ALP and managed to finally defeat John Howard's Liberal Party. Here's hoping he can maintain the momentum into the new year.
- Julia Gillard - the first time a woman has been acting Prime Minister; she is clearly a leader of the future.
- Tim Flannery - this Australian of the Year has been a crucial activist about global warming in Australia.
- Peter Costello - his decision not to contest the leadership of the Liberal Party stunned most political observers, but you can't really blame for not wanting to lead the party through the wilderness (even though he will now never get the chance to be PM).
- Liz Ellis - this great of Australian netball retired this year.
Top 5 things that changed the world in 2007:
- Facebook - social networking is no longer the province of teenagers thanks to the simplicity of Facebook's design and its news feed.
- Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize - he continues to put climate change on the international agenda.
- Drugs in baseball - the drug scandals in baseball this year will ensure that all sports must now take the problem of drug use in professional sport very seriously indeed.
- Online campaigning - from Kevin07 in Australia to Ron Paul in the US, online campaigning is now a very important component of any election campaign.
- iPhone - the hype of the iPhone helped to make mobile computing mainstream.
