Jennifer Lawrence has been included in this year’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” list presented by the folks at Time magazine.

The 22-year-old award-winning actress was listed alongside Beyonce, Jimmy Fallon, and President Obama in the publications annual list. Not only is Lawrence popular at the box office, she has managed to translate her fame into something more than just big-screen success.

Each person listed in the “Top 100″ list are praised by another celebrity. Jodie Foster, who directed the actress in the 2011 drama The Beaver, had nothing but extremely positive things to say about Lawrence and her abilities.

Foster explained:

“All of those painful secrets in her face, the feeling that there’s some terrible past that’s left impossibly angled bone and weariness in its wake. She’s worn from the pain of living — something none of her characters would ever have the energy to articulate.”

She added:

“It’s just part of her, like skin and muscle. The good news is that Jen, her good-humored, ballsy, free-spirited alter ego with the husky voice and a propensity for junk food … Jen, the spritely tomboy from Kentucky — that Jen’s got it together. A hoot. A gem. A gem with a killer stare.”

Jennifer Lawrence is also set to receive accolades from her home state of Kentucky. The Hunger Games star will be honored with the Down Syndrome of Louisville’s Friendship Award next week for the friendship she struck up with Andy Strunk during her younger days.

A spokesperson for the organization explained:

“Jennifer and Andy Strunk have been friends since their middle school days. Jennifer and Andy enjoy a loyal friendship of mutual encouragement and enjoy each other’s company. They text and speak on the phone quite frequently. Their families stay in close contact and continue a friendship too.”

Jennifer Lawrence can be seen in the upcoming films Serena, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and X-Men: Days of Future Past. You can see who else made Time magazine’s annual list by visiting the publication’s official website.

Are you a fan of Jennifer Lawrence? Are you surprised that the actress made the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” list?

[Image via Terry Straehley / Shutterstock.com]

Jennifer Lawrence Counted Among Time’s Most Influential People is a post from: The Inquisitr

Marco Rubio wants everyone to know that there’s only one savior, and it’s Jesus.

The Florida Senator is a rising star in the GOP, and the subject of TIME Magazine‘s February 18 cover story, titled “The Republican Savior.” Among other colleagues like Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, and arguably Chris Christie, Rubio is attempting to change the GOP from the inside-out, opting for pragmatic, bipartisan solutions to our political problems while not straying from conservative principles.

The majority of the GOP seems to be working against them, but Rubio’s voice has risen above the division, causing many to brand him and his ilk as the new faces of the GOP, and indeed, the party’s “savior.”

In the TIME Magzine article, Rubio is dubbed the “new voice of the GOP” under the title “Immigrant Son.” It talks about Rubio’s Cuban heritage and his key role in recent bipartisan immigration reform.

This recent bipartisan proposal seeks to address issues related to immigration by providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers. Several leading conservatives, including Rubio, have pushed for immigration reform.

So any press for Rubio is good press, right? Not any press that refers to him as “savior,” apparently. In response to the TIME cover, Rubio, who is Catholic, tweeted:

There is only one savior, and it is not me. #Jesus

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 7, 2013

Here’s the TIME cover featuring Marco Rubio. What do you think? Is Rubio the “savior” of the GOP?

Marco Rubio Says He’s No Savior, You’re Thinking Of Jesus is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sarah Palin is now on record as mocking President Obama for being named by Time Magazine as Person Of The Year. The former Alaskan Governor and now Fox News contributor was speaking to Fox’s Greta Van Susteren when Sarah Palin criticized the point of the award in a self-depreciating manner, using herself as an example for why being named Person Of The Year does not matter.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the last time Sarah Palin really made the news was when she used the phrase “shuck and jive” to describe the reactions of the Obama administration to the Benghazi Scandal. She probably didn’t realize her comment would become prescient as the political dodging is still ongoing. An honorable mention would include some conservative pundits nominating Sarah Palin for the 2016 Presidential Elections (ugh, these things start early these days, don’t they?). Then of course there’s her son Track who recently decided to divorce his wife of one year.

According to the video by Fox News President Obama was awarded Person Of The Year by Time Magazine for his success in “forging a new majority…to create a more perfect union.” Sarah Palin was asked for her thoughts on that statement:

“The path toward a more perfect union is our Constitution and I think we’ve seen examples of our President not necessarily following the Constitution. In fact, he’s wanting to change the Constitution because he see it as a charter of negatives…and he’s made statements in the past about his view of our Constitution. And following the Constitution is the blueprint toward a more perfect union.”

Time Magazine named Sarah Palin one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. Considering this, it’s pretty funny when she uses herself as example for why Time lacks credibility in making its choices for Person Of the Year:

“Time magazine, I think there’s some irrelevancy there, to tell you the truth. I mean, consider their list of the most influential people in the country and in the world, consider some who made that list: yours truly! That ought to tell you something right there regarding the credence we should give Time magazine and their list of people.”

Sara Palin considers Time’s description of Obama’s accomplishments to be “silly words” and when she looks back she asks, “What the heck has he done? Really, what has he done but drive us over a Fiscal Cliff?” She seems to think the Congressional gridlock means that the Fiscal Cliff is a foregone deal, but she also asks, “What has [Obama] done to unify and make our nation a more perfect union? For the life of me, I don’t know.”

Do you agree with Sarah Palin that Obama does not deserve Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year award for the reasons Time lists?

Sarah Palin Mocks Obama As Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year is a post from: The Inquisitr

Congratulation are in order for President Obama, who was recently named Time Magazine’s ”Person Of The Year. “Not to be outdone, perennial Obama Hater, WND, countered the popular decision by naming Pat Buchanan their “Man Of The Year.” While the choice of Mr. Buchanan may be puzzling to many, it certainly is appropriate for the week the doomsday prophets say the world will end.

Only a person who spent the last year living in a cave would dispute the fact that 2012 has not been a good year for Conservatives. Back in June, the Supreme Court started the ball rolling by ruling that Obamacare was Constitutional. Chief Justice Roberts stunned critics of the Affordable Care Act by casting a completely unexpected deciding vote in favor of the President’s unpopular legislation.

In November, Republicans thought Mitt had the election in the bag, except for an annoying little item called math. Team Romney actually believed the Gallup Organization was smarter than Nate Silver and went to the voting booths convinced they had a seven point lead over the President. When the smoke cleared, Obama was triumphant and all the pollsters but Mr. Silver ducked for cover. The Republican Party took one too many punches to the head and promptly blamed the defeat on Karl Rove’s ORCA software that Romney campaign staffers used in a failed attempt to get out the vote.

Now, it is important to remember that WND is the Conservative website that brought us such gems as the article accusing the President of wearing a wedding ring engraved with the Muslim declaration of faith (the Shahada). Why would Obama’s opponents want to discuss serious issues like the 16 trillion dollar deficit, America’s endless wars, the economy, or our nation’s abysmal educational system when it is so much easier to take a cheap shot and attack the President with asinine allegations he is a Muslim?

WND decided to prove to the American people just how irrelevant they are by naming good old Pat Buchanan the WND ”Man Of The Year.” Many people, on hearing the news, respond by saying, “Hey, I thought he died 10 years ago.” No, my fellow Americans, Pat is still with us, and he is still living in the 1960′s. Although his name may escape many folks born after 1990, Pat is a rather large muckety muck in the world of conservative politics. Buchanan served as assistant to Richard Nixon for eight years, and he was the White House communications director for Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1987.

Pat received his initial accolades writing speeches for Nixon and acting as a foil for Tricky Dick’s paranoid delusions. His most famous quote might be this gem:

“You’d see these pictures of this guy leaning over behind the president. If I can’t be the president I could be the guy leaning over there.”

After Nixon fell from grace and promptly beat feet out of Washington for a comfy Santa Barbara mansion allegedly paid for by his pal, Bebe Rebozo, Pat needed a new job, so he hooked his star to the next guy from California who wanted to be President, a washed up B-Movie actor named Ronald Reagan. Opinions on Reagan vary from “the guy who saved America” to “the guy who slept while America started to go broke,” depending on who is doing the talking. All that we know for certain is that Ronnie won two terms as President, his wife consulted astrologer Jean Dixon for political advice and the aging Reagan did manage to stay awake or sleepwalk through most of the Presidential debates. Pat was there for two years, handling the White House Press Corps (that’s core, not corpse) and he was still leaning over a President, probably yelling, “Ron, for gods sake, wake up.”

Eventually, Buchanan got tired of babysitting, er, advising Reagan. He left Ronnie in the care of Nancy and returned to writing about politics and working as a network commentator. He hosted the well received political debate program, Crossfire, with Liberal co-host Tom Braden, author of the book Eight Is Enough (later a successful TV Sitcom). Buchanan also wrote six consecutive NY Times bestsellers, including A Republic, Not an Empire, The Death of the West, Where the Right Went Wrong, State of Emergency, Day of Reckoning and Churchill, Hitler and The Unnecessary War. As usual, Pat’s theme of real Americans (translation: White Americans) against the invaders and perverts sold like hot cakes to right wingers everywhere.

Somehow, Buchanan found the time to mount two incredibly unsuccessful campaigns for the Republican nomination in 1992 and 1996 and he ran for President on the Reform Party ticket in 2000. You probably realize that he didn’t do very well as the Reform Party candidate: instead we got George” Mr. Nice Guy” Bush for the next eight years.

Finally in February of 2012, Buchanan’s racist, xenophobic rhetoric pushed the limits of tolerance and political correctness and Pat was terminated by MSNBC, ending three decades as a boorish television talking head. He was fired over several of the ideas he expressed in his latest book, some rather crude remarks about Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and an attitude that bordered on bigotry :

“Indeed, of the last seven justices nominated by Democrats JFK, LBJ, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, one was black, Marshall; one was Puerto Rican, Sonia Sotomayor. The other five were Jews: Arthur Goldberg, Abe Fortas, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. If Kagan is confirmed, Jews, who represent less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, will have 33 percent of the Supreme Court seats. Is this the Democrats’ idea of diversity?”

Why Pat wanted to work for ultra liberal MSNBC is still unknown. Maybe he thought the cable network was the channel that broadcast the Walt Disney Show in the 1960′s. Certainly, MSNBC is not known for being overly fond of anyone who doesn’t get a tingle up their leg every time Obama wags his finger at the camera. On the other hand, saying, ” (America) has been a country built, basically, by white folks” is not likely to endear you to your employers or the advertisers who pay the bills.

The saddest part is that Buchanan wasn’t saying anything that he hasn’t said from day one of his career. He is unable or unwilling to accept that the times have changed in America and his way of thinking is no longer in the majority. The nation that Pat Buchanan knew and loved in the 1950′s is gone forever and no one will ever bring it back. Most of us are happy it is gone, along with the draft, segregation, sexual discrimination, Susie Homemaker and the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

Fast forward to the new millennium and Time Magazine named a multi-racial, liberal progressive President Person Of The Year for 2012. Swimming furiously against the tide of change and modern life, WND trotted out Pat Buchanan as their Man Of The Year.

In a baffling display of arrogance, self congratulation and 1950′s macho,  WND offered a proud description of their prestigious award:

“The award was designated for the man who during the year 2012 did the most to represent goodness, perseverance, manliness and character.”

The rest of us will stick with “Person Of The Year” and dispense with the Neanderthal attitude towards women, thank you very much. I can’t help but wonder if women in these so- called Conservative marriages actually put up with this crap or is there a civil war brewing behind the scenes in apple pie America?

Before we conclude this journey to the pre-historic era, please excuse me for a moment while I rummage through the WND website and see if I can dig up any useful opinion pieces calling for the execution of homosexuals or a how to article about dragging a woman out of the cave by the hair. Manliness!!!!! Give me a break WND. This is the 21st century.

Time Names Obama Person Of The Year: WND Counters With Pat Buchanan As Conservative MOTY is a post from: The Inquisitr

In an online poll conducted by TIME Magazine, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was voted by readers as the person of the year.

In achieving this honor, Un tallied 5.6 million votes and beat out the likes of President Barack Obama, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and television personality John Stewart.

Full results for the online poll can be found at TIME online.

When asked for a response, TIME executive editor Radhika Jones answered:

“While we don’t make our selection based on the poll results, it’s always interesting to see where some of our preferred candidates end up.”

Being voted TIME’s person of the year online is different than being named TIME Magazine’s actual person of the year. To determine the actual person of the year TIME turns to its team of editors. We won’t know who is chosen for this honor until December 19 then the decision is announced live on the Today Show.

By conducting this online poll Time is able to get a sense of who, or even what, the population believes had the most social and cultural impact over the last year.

However, and maybe more importantly, this is not the only honor bestowed on Kim Jog Un in the last year. Earlier in the year he did grace the cover of TIME Magazine, he took control of North Korea in December 2011, and The Onion declared him the Sexiest Man Alive.

All fun and games aside, in just a few short days TIME’s person of the year will be revealed. Until then we can only speculate who that may be.

Kim Jong Un voted Time’s Person of the Year is a post from: The Inquisitr

The folks at Time have selected directors Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski’s Cloud Atlas as the worst movie of 2012.

According to Indiewire, the science fiction epic from the masterminds behind the Matrix trilogy was picked as the year’s absolute worst 2012 cinematic offering. Forget Alex Cross or the Adam Sandler comedy flop That’s My Boy — Cloud Atlas is apparently the worst movie Hollywood coughed up this year.

Needless to say, a number of websites are of the belief that Time got everything wrong when they selected Cloud Atlas as the worst movie of 2012.

Cinema Blend writer Katey Rich was one of the many internet critics who feels the publication is picking on the wrong movie.

” ‘Time’ magazine, bowed by the pressures of print publishing I’m sure, has gone ahead and run Mary Pols’s list of the 10 worst films of the year, and she used it to drive a dagger through the heart of one of the most beloved and under seen movies of the year among many Internet critics: ‘Cloud Atlas,’ ” Rich wrote.

Movieline critic Alison Willmore was one of the many critics entranced by the Wachowski’s latest cinematic endeavor. Needless to say she probably doesn’t agree with Time magazine’s controversial worst movie list.

“It’s rare, these days, to see a movie declare its aims for greatness so openly and without a leaden sense of self-importance. And though the film doesn’t achieve all of its goals, it does offer an indelibly powerful vision of a throughline from the past to today and on through the end of things, that expresses faith in the ability of people to overcome animalism,” Willmore wrote in her review.

Also included on the list is director Andrew Stanton’s John Carter, a film based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic novel A Prince Of Mars. Although some moviegoers didn’t think it was as bad as others made it out to be, the picture’s spectacular box office failure is reason enough for its inclusion on the list.

The other movies considered to be this year’s worst are included below.

1. Cloud Atlas
2. John Carter
3. Hyde Park on Hudson
4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
5. This Means War
6. The Lorax
7. Alex Cross
8. What To Expect When You’re Expecting
9. The Odd Life Of Timothy Green
10. One For The Money

Do you think that Cloud Atlas was the worst movie of 2012?

Worst Movie Of 2012: Time Magazine Selects ‘Cloud Atlas’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Controversial women’s rights firebrand Sandra Fluke has been nominated as TIME’s “Person of the Year,” and that doesn’t sit kindly with Fox News anchor and pundit Megyn Kelly.

Kelly has criticized Fluke before, as have other Fox hosts. But now that Fluke has been nominated for TIME‘s “Person of the Year,” pundits have a whole new reason to scoff at her. Positioned between liberal radio host Leslie Marshall and right wing radio host Lars Larson, an agitated-looking Kelly announced “voting is under say for Time’s person of the year.” Kelly wryly asked “guess who made the cut?”

Kelly referenced Fluke’s sentiment that “paying for birth control is a hardship for female students,” playing part of her testimony to the Democratic House committee that she is now infamous for.

“Ya got JFK, ya got Gandhi, and maybe now Sandra Fluke,” Kelly deadpanned.

Marshall defended Fluke, saying that if Jay-Z and Jon Stewart can get the nod, so can Fluke. Kelly replied: “many women felt that Sandra Fluke of what women value and how they feel about society and there was a tone in a lot of her remarks that was akin to that of a victim.” Though Fluke could be seen as a victim, “there was controversy about that.”

Kelly also said that Fluke’s nomination “cheapens” TIME’s award, saying, “having, with all due respect to Ms. Fluke and what she stands for, by even having Jay-Z and Sandra Fluke and John Stewart on the same list as that little girl?”

Megyn Kelly On Sandra Fluke: ‘TIME’ Nod ‘Cheapens’ The Honor [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” will likely be Kim Jong Un, and, much like his rule over North Korea, the win will be undeserved and created through backroom channels meant to haphazardly fool everyone.

The People’s Choice Award for “Person of the Year” relies on votes being cast by Time readers via the company’s online portal. Unfortunately, a Weebly account has been setup to pass along a program called VoteF**ker which allows users to pass over voting protocols and cast as many votes as they wish.

The group behind VoteF**ker is not exactly hiding their support of “The Glorious Leader” behind a closed veil, writing on the voting programs download page:

“Click Below to download the latest version of ‘VoteF**ker’

“Support our GLORIOUS LEADER! All source code is located inside of the zip file. compatable with MAC, Linux, and Windows.”

Once downloaded, the program first attempts to use TOR connections to spoof a user’s IP address repeatedly, allowing them to vote many times over for Kim Jong Un. If Tor is not installed, the user’s regular internet connections are utilized.

So far, the plan seems to be working as Kim Jong Un has received 145,077 “definitely” votes and just 50,633 “no way votes.” In comparison Mohamed Morsy, President of the Muslim Brotherhood, has received 193,754 “definitely” votes and 195,794 “no way” votes.

No other person on Time‘s voting list for “Person of the Year” has received nearly 100,000 more “definitely” votes than “no way” votes. Just like Reddit and other popular online voting systems, the ranking of each individual will ultimately be decided by the voting disparity between definitely and no way votes cast for each participant.

Voting closes at 11:59 pm on December 12 with the winner being announced on December 14.

Here is a look at the top 10 voted people so far:

The VoteF**ker program has been spotted several times on 4Chan, and blog posts for the program have slowly revealed themselves only to be shutdown after a short period of time. Despite the fact that this program is not a widely publicized application, the effects of its downloading and use cannot be understated.

Because we know you’re curious, the voter fraud program can be downloaded via a quick Google search for the apps name.

It looks to be a big year for Kim Jong Un, first his “sexiest man alive” praise and now Time’s Person of the Year. If you can’t beat ‘em, lie and stumble your way to the top!

Time Magazines Person Of The Year: Kim Jong Un? VoteF**ker App Supports ‘The Glorious Leader’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Gamers have known for months that Star Wars: The Old Republic (SW: TOR) is in trouble. Those of us who have played SW:TOR from the beginning have seen more of our friends and guild mates disappear from the game every day. Over the last seven months, since the game launched in December, 2011, many guilds have slowly faded out of existence, as most of their members cancelled subscriptions and quit playing.

Sadly, our worst fears were verified yesterday, July 25, 2012, with this shocking comment at the end of an article in Time Magazine. The article, by Time’s tech writer, Keith Wagstaff, concluded with this dismal statement about Star Wars: The Old Republic: “With EA’s (Electronic Arts) Star Wars MMORPG, The Old Republic, losing subscribers by the hundreds of thousands, now might be the time for World of Warcraft to get some of its mojo back.” While it is exciting to see MMORPGS mentioned in Time Magazine, this was not the sort of news gamers hoped to read.

Making matters even worse, the quote from Mr. Wagstaff was a retread of an earlier comment from Forbes Magazine, on July 18, 2012. The Forbes article, written by Paul Tassi, contained this discouraging comment: “Star Wars: The Old Republic has quietly faded into the background lately in terms of generating news. Last we heard a few months back, the game was shedding subscribers by the hundreds of thousands and considering a free-to-play option. Since then, all has been quiet.”

Emily Gera at The Verge tried her best to put a balanced spin on the situation, saying, “Star Wars: The Old Republic lost over 400,000 subscribers since February 2012; however at the end of March, 2012, it still retained a subscriber-base of 1.3 million users.” While this sounds like a high number of paying customers, no one can deny that losing more than 400,000 subscribers is a disaster in the making. Plus, as any active player will tell you, between April, 2012, when there were still 1.3 million subscribers and July 26, 2012, many, many thousands more players have left the game.

On top of all the lost subscribers and revenue, Gamasutra reported on July 17, 2012, that Rich Vogel, executive producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, is no longer employed by Bioware. He left Bioware at the same time the company was announcing its second round of layoffs of employees who worked on SW: TOR. No one is revealing why Vogel left but SW: TOR has not only lost a large percentage of its paying customers but many of the people who helped create the game are gone.

All the bad news forces us to ask one simple question; will SW: TOR switch to a fully free to play business model? EA has already announced that the first 15 levels of SW: TOR will be free to play (FTP) and the bosses at EA are giving serious thought to making the game completely FTP. EA Labels President, Frank Gibeau, was holding his cards close to the vest, when he said, “We’re going to be in the business from a long term standpoint so absolutely we’re going to embrace free access, free trial, ultimately some day we can move in and embrace that model (free to play). It’s all a matter of timing and thinking things through. We have a great business right now and we’re not looking to make any abrupt changes.”

Mr. Gibeau can hardly be expected to pronounce a death sentence on a game that took 6 years to develop at a cost of over 125 million dollars, but the first seven months of Star Wars: The Old Republic are certainly causing a great deal of concern for the future. What ever decision the EA management makes, they should make it soon and let the gaming community know exactly how they plan to revitalize the game.

One can only wonder if going to a free to play model will solve the problem. There is much more wrong with SW:TOR than the fact that the game is pay to play. Despite an obvious need and months of pleading from the player community, the decision makers at EA and Bioware waited too long to get out the first major update. When it finally became available in April, 2012, there was very little new playable content and most subscribers were seriously disappointed. Just about every guild in the game was able to tear through all the new instances and flashpoints within hours after the update became available.

Players have several other serious complaints about SW: TOR. PVP (Player vs. Player) has yet to recover from the catastrophic failure of world PVP on Ilum. Space combat is meaningless, doesn’t connect with the rest of the game and the controls are awful. Instances get boring rather quickly and several of the bosses are just too easy. Perhaps Bioware thought the glitter and gloss of the Legacy system would keep players interested, but what the game needs is a massive infusion of stimulating content that really challenges the players.

To the credit of the game’s designers, leveling and questing in SW: TOR is a great deal of fun and quite well thought out, but it isn’t enough to keep player’s coming back for more. Once a player hits the level cap, the game quickly runs out of steam and becomes repetitious. As the saying goes, there’s the rub. To recapture the disgruntled players, the end game needs a complete overhaul.

Free to play may attract some new players but it remains to be seen if it will bring back the hundreds of thousands of disappointed gamers. We all had high hopes for SW: TOR and many of us were truly heartbroken when the game didn’t live up to expectations. We really wanted this game to be a winner. If Star Wars: The Old Republic has any chance to bounce back and rekindle the excitement the gaming community originally had for the game, the developers at Bioware need to come up with some amazing new ideas.

Frankly, I for one am not holding my breath. Many of my friends have said they seriously doubt they could ever be enticed into returning to the game. It would cost a fortune and a massive amount of work to redesign the end game content of SW: TOR. Maybe Bioware and EA can pull off a miracle comeback, but the odds are against them. SW: TOR will probably survive and remain somewhat profitable, but it isn’t the world-beater we all hoped it would become, when we first heard about Star Wars: The Old Republic, seven long years ago.

Star Wars The Old Republic Struggles To Regain Its Mojo is a post from: The Inquisitr

President Barack Obama contributed an op-ed to Time in which he explains his decision to no longer deport illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. In it, the President argues that the naturalization of some 800,000 immigrants is the right thing to do for our economy, our national security, and that “above all, it is the right thing to do, period.”

In the opinion piece, the President defends his decision to issue an executive order to make some 800,000 illegals naturalized U.S. citizens, a decision that has received a fair amount of controversy and support. “They are Americans in their hearts and minds, in every single way but one: on paper,” writes the President. “They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants, and often have no idea that they’re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver’s license, or a college scholarship.”

“It makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans. They’ve been raised as Americans and know this nation as their own. To expel these young people who want to staff our labs, or start new businesses, or defend our country simply because of the actions of their parents or because of the inaction of politicians makes no sense,” said the President.

In the piece, President Obama stresses that his executive order isn’t unilateral amnesty, political immunity, or even a path to citizenship. It’s a temporary measure until Congress passes the DREAM Act. “It got 55 votes in the Senate, but Republicans blocked it.  The bill hasn’t really changed since Republicans co-wrote it. The need hasn’t changed,” said the President, adding, “The only thing that has changed, apparently, is the politics.”

Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon thanked President Obama for his “unprecedented” decision, calling the executive order, “very just,” and thanking the President for “the valor and courage that you had in implementing this action.”

President Obama’s full op-ed can be found here. What do you think? Does the President make a compelling argument?<

President Obama’s Op-Ed Defends Immigration Decision: “It Is The Right Thing To Do, Period” is a post from: The Inquisitr

You may not know Jamie Lynne Grumet but you’ve probably seen her picture. She’s the mom on the cover of Time Magazine breastfeeding her 3-year-old child.

The photo has stirred up a lot of controversy, which according to Grumet, was exactly the point.

Grumet said:

“I do understand why Time chose this picture because…it did create such a media craze to get the dialogue talking. We knew exactly what we were going to get in to.”

Grumet did say, however, that the photo doesn’t depict how she actually breastfeeds her son. The 26-year-old said that when she breastfeeds at home her 3-year-old son Aram is sitting on her lap, not standing on a stool. Grumet said that most people aren’t taking issue with the fact that Aram is too old. Instead, breastfeeding advocates argue that the picture shows a shocking example of breastfeeding and not a natural one.

Grumet said:

“I understand some of the breastfeeding advocates are actually upset about this… This isn’t how we breastfeed at home. It’s more of a cradling, nurturing situation.”

Time Magazine editor-in-chief Rick Stengel said that several photos taken during the shoot were less shocking. The photo of Grumet and her son was chosen for the cover because he knew that it would get people talking. Grumet said:

“It’s certainly an arresting image. It’s an image to get people’s attention about a serious subject. Judging by the reaction on Twitter this morning, some people think it’s great, and some people are revolted by it. That’s what you want. You want people talking…”

What did you think about Jamie Lynne Grumet’s photo on Time Magazine?

Jamie Lynne Grumet Defends Time Magazine Cover Photo is a post from: The Inquisitr

Time Magazine stirred up some controversy today as it debuted its new cover.  The cover photo, which shows an attractive young mom breastfeeding her three-year-old child next to the words “Are You Mom Enough,” is the first photo for the cover story about attachment parenting.

Dr. Bill Sears, author of “The Baby Book,” promotes attachment parenting in the magazine. Sears encourages parents to breastfeed their children longer, to allow their kids to sleep in their beds, and to wear clothing that literally attaches them to your body.

Time Magazine editor-in-chief Rick Stengel said:

“He wants you to spend every waking moment, and pretty much every sleeping moment, with your baby.”

The Washington Post reports that Dr. Bill has authored more than 30 books about childcare. Sears believes that caregivers need to be more “emotionally available” and “immediately responsive” to the biological needs of their children. Sears says that attachment parenting leads to greater socio-emotional development.

Some people may not agree with Sears’ philosophy but he isn’t preaching anything too shocking. But that’s the reason why the Time photo has caused some controversy. Financial Times columnist Gillian Tett said that the photo was placed on the cover for shock photo and really has nothing to do with Bill Sears.

Tett said:

“I looked at this and my first thought was, it’s a really cheap shot. It’s a piece about Bill Sears, it’s not about an attractive blonde woman breast feeding… This is at least making us think about out approach toward parenting and our approach toward breast feeding. But it still makes me wince when I look at it.”

Rick Stengel added:

“It’s certainly an arresting image. It’s an image to get people’s attention about a serious subject. Judging by the reaction on Twitter this morning, some people think it’s great, and some people are revolted by it. That’s what you want. You want people talking…Do I expect some people to be outraged? Sure.”

Here’s the full cover shot from this week’s issue of Time Magazine. (You can see more photos here.)

The woman in the photo is Jamie Lynne Grumet. Grumet, according to the Washington Post, is a 26-year-old mother of two. She is an advocate of Sears’ work and frequently blogs about parenting issues.

Grumet, who says that she was breastfed until she was 6-years-old, said:

“There are people who tell me they’re going to call social services on me or that it’s child molestation. People have to realize this is biologically normal. It’s not socially normal. The more people see it, the more it’ll become normal in our culture.”

The boy in the photo, Grumet’s son Aram, will turn 4 next month.

What do you think of Time Magazine’s cover photo? Do you think 3-years-old is too old for a child to still be breastfeeding?

Time Magazine Shows 3-Year-Old Boy Breastfeeding On New Cover is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple CEO Tim Cook is coming out of Steve Jobs’ admittedly long shadow. The former Jobs subordinate and COO was named his boss’ successor last August after the legendary Apple co-founder retired just prior to his passing. Now Cook, who has made headlines by opening up his notoriously secretive company’s overseas trade practices by providing lists of suppliers and publicly discussing working conditions in Foxconn plants in which the company’s products are manufactured, has received his due in the form of inclusion in Time Magazine’s annual List of 100 Most Influential People, ”the people who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world.”

Cook was included on the most influential list together with Jobs’ biographer, Walter Isaacson, who wrote the tech visionary’s only authorized biography, published right after its subject’s death.

In explaining why he was chosen as one of the most influential men of the year, Time commissioned an essay on Cook by Apple board member and former Vice President Al Gore. According to Gore “Cook knows that his commitment to excellence is inseparable from the incredible ensemble he leads at Apple.” Many, if not most, of the higher executives and technologists from Jobs’ reign still work at Apple and Jonny Ives, the designer behind the iMac, iPhone, iPad and iPod, and one of Jobs’ most trusted subordinates, is still continuing his critical work and it seems that Cook’s success thus far has been to allow Jobs’ personnel choices and product roadmap to stay as they were.

The real test of Cook’s influence and ability to lead will come after the company begins to leave the roadmap that Jobs left behind and forges a new path independent of what Steve would have wanted.

Gore noted that:

Fiercely protective of Jobs’ legacy and deeply immersed in Apple’s culture, Cook, 51, has already led the world’s most valuable and innovative company to new heights while implementing major policy changes smoothly and brilliantly.

Only time will tell…

Out Of Steve Jobs’ Shadow: Time Cook Makes Time’s Top 100 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Time Magazine’s list of 2012′s Most Influential people features an eclectic mix of personalities. This year’s list includes entertainers like Stephen Colbert, athletes like Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin, politicians like President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and singers like Rihanna.

CBS reports that this is the ninth time that Time has released its “100 Most Influential List.” The list is divided into five categories; Moguls, Breakouts, Icons, Pioneers and Leaders. It features people from 37 countries and includes 38 women (the most in list history).

From the sports world, Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin both made the list.

Lin wrote about Tebow:

“He is unashamed of his convictions and faith, and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out. As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that.”

Lin, who is currently on the sidelines with an injury, had his tribute written by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who, like Lin, is a graduate of Harvard. Duncan wrote:

“Often it’s the bling, the glam, the individual that gets celebrated — not the team and working together to advance a goal bigger than oneself. Jeremy cares only about one thing — winning. And I don’t care whether you are an Asian-American kid, white, black or Hispanic, Jeremy’s story tells you that if you show grit, discipline and integrity, you too can get an opportunity to overcome the odds.”

Warren Buffet also made the list this year. The “Buffet Rule” has been a hot topic on capitol hill lately and its biggest backer, Barack Obama, wrote Buffet’s tribute in Time Magazine. Obama writes:

 ”[Warren] uses his stature as a leader to press others of great means to do the same. The Sage of Omaha has handed down plenty of lessons over the years. Today, at 81, he reminds us that life is not just about the value you seek. It’s about the values you stand for.”

Here’s the complete list from Time Magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People In The World.”

Jeremy Lin / Christian Marclay / Viola Davis / Salman Khan / Tim Tebow / E.L. James / Louis CK / Rihanna / Marco Rubio / Ali Ferzat / René Redzepi / Kristen Wiig / Anthony Kennedy / Novak Djokovic / Ben Rattray / Jessica Chastain / Yani Tseng / Raphael Saadiq / Elinor Ostrom / Samira Ibrahim / José André / Ann Patchett /Dulce Matuz / Henrik Schärfe /Freeman Hrabowski / Maryam Durani / Manal al-Sharif / Anjali Gopalan /Rached Ghannouchi / Barbara Van Dahlen / Ron Fouchier / Donald Sadoway / Hans Rosling / Asghar Farhadi / Sarah Burton / Anonymous / Pete Cashmore / Cami Anderson / Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoglu / Ai-jen Poo / Marc Andreessen / Preet Bharara / Robert Grant / Andrew Lo / Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy / Alexei Navalny / Ray Dalio / Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani / Chelsea Handler / Harvey Weinstein / Chen Lihua / Warren Buffett / Alice Walton / Harold Hamm / Sheryl Sandberg / Sara Blakely / Tim Cook / Eike Batista / Daniel Ek / Virginia Rometty / Barack Obama / Goodluck Jonathan / Xi Jinping /Fatou Bensouda / Christine Lagarde / Mario Draghi / U Thein Sein /Ayatullah Ali Khamenei / Mitt Romney / Juan Manuel Santos / Timothy Dolan /Portia Simpson Miller / Mario Monti / Wang Yang / Maria das Graças Silva Foster /Andrew Cuomo / Iftikhar Chaudhry / Mamata Banerjee / Walter Isaacson / Ron Paul / Benjamin Netanyahu / Dilma Rousseff / Erik Martin /Cecile Richards / Angela Merkel / Lionel Messi / Tilda Swinton / Hillary Clinton / Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Pippa Middleton / Adele / Matt Lauer / Oscar Pistorius /Claire Danes / Stephen Colbert

Are you surprised by anyone on the list?

Time’s 2012 Most Influential List Includes Tebow, Obama, Colbert, Rihanna is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ozzie Guillen, the Miami Marlins manager, apologized on Saturday for his remarks regarding his love of Fidel Castro and his inclination to get drunk at a hotel bar after each and every game the Marlins play.

For those unfamiliar with Guillen’s remarks, he told Time magazine that he loves Castro and has respect for the dictator’s ability to retain power for as long as he has.  After reading his comments, he later said he felt sick due to his belief that the public would react negatively to his statements.  As the Marlins manager foresaw, the public did not react kindly to his commentary and the Miami Marlins subsequently decided to issue a statement in which they said:

“There is nothing to respect about Fidel Castro. He is a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than 50 years. We live in a community [Miami, FL] filled with victims of this dictatorship, and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today.”

Guillen, who is from Venezuela and became a U.S. citizen in 2006, called together a meeting with the team’s beat writers prior to the Marlins’ 8-3 win against the Reds on Saturday in which he apologized for his earlier remarks.  During this meeting behind closed doors, Guillen told the writers:

“I will apologize if I hurt somebody’s feelings, or I hurt somebody’s thought. I want them to know I’m against everything 100%. I repeat it again, the way this man [has been] treating people for the past 60 years.”

In regards to Guillen’s claim of getting drunk after every game, he told CBSSports.com that his routine, dating back to his early days of playing baseball, would consist of drinking at a hotel bar and then falling asleep; to quote Guillen:

“I go to the hotel bar, get drunk, sleep. I don’t do anything else. I get drunk because I’m happy we win or I get drunk because I’m very sad and disturbed because we lose. Same routine, it never changes. It’s been the same routine for 25, 28 years. It doesn’t change. I don’t like to go out. I don’t have time. I’ve got to be here early, and I go to sleep so drunk that I have to recover in time to go to the park.”

What are your thoughts on the aforementioned comments made by Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen?

Ozzie Guillen Loves Fidel Castro And Getting Drunk After Every Game is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jamie Dimon, Chariman and Chief Executive Office of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), received $23 million between bonuses and salary for 2011. This is the same Jamie Dimon played by Bill Pullman in HBO’s financial crisis drama, Too Big To Fail.

With a base salary of $1.5 million from the start of March 2011, $17 million in restricted stock and options, and a $4.5 million cash bonus, Dimon made out like a bandit while the economy wavered in 2011.  His 2010 pay package was roughly the same amount.

Fifty-six year old Dimon’s restricted shares were valued by a proxy at $12 million and his options an additional $5 million.

Dimon’s earnings over recent years have ranked him amongst the most well paid bankers across the nation. Brian T. Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America Corp. which is the second largest lender by assets in the United States, received only $7 million in total paid compensation after taking a 30% pay cut.  Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup Inc. which is the third largest lender in the nation, received $14.9 million, leaving him more than a little shy of Jamie Dimon’s $23 million.

JPMorgan performed incredibly well in 2011 as they capped their second straight year of record profit, bringing in $19 billion in net income.  J.P. Morgan was founded in 1871 by American financier and banker John Pierpont Morgan. Today, the company has become the investment banking arm of JPMorgan Chase.

James “Jamie” Dimon was born March 13, 1956 and is the president, chief executive, and chairman of JP Morgan Chase. He served on the New York Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors. Dimon has been included in Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people on numerous occasions.

What are your thoughts on Dimon’s $23 million pay package?

Source: Bloomberg

Jamie Dimon: JPMorgan CEO Awarded $23 Million Pay Package is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’ve checked in over at Reddit lately, you know the place is overrun with Digg refugees.

So, apparently the “new Digg” didn’t go over well on an epic scale, and many Digg users have vocally begun to express their displeasure. Amusingly, even Time thought to cover the longstanding rivalry:

But the best revenge? Teaming up with the enemy. So many enraged Digg fans jumped ship and headed to competitor Reddit that the latter’s moderators posted a Reddit 101 guide for new users. And as icing on the betrayal cake, one intrepid Digg-hater set up an automatic feed on Digg of Reddit posts.

I have to admit to not being a good, objective reviewer because I strongly prefer the format and tone of Reddit to Digg. It’s difficult to quantify how the large-scale frustration will play out in the long term for Digg, or whether the many new users proclaiming to be Digg refugees will stick around and become contributing members.

Have you switched? Are you finding the “new Digg”still preferable to Reddit? Pic attached, it’s my Digg front page.

Digg mutiny continues, feud makes ‘Time’ as users abandon ship to Reddit is a post from: The Inquisitr

Time magazine has named US President Elect Barack Obama the Person of the Year in 2008.

Other finalists were U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, failed VP candidate Sarah Palin (seriously) and Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

According to Time: “In one of the craziest elections in American history, he overcame a lack of experience, a funny name, two candidates who are political institutions and the racial divide to become the 44th president of the United States.”

Last years winner was Vladimir Putin, and 2006′s winner simply “You.” Other notable previous winners include Queen Elizabeth II and Adolf Hitler.

Shame they didn’t pick Palin, that would have been a whole lot more fun

Obama named Time Magazine Person of the Year 2008 is a post from: The Inquisitr

The magazine’s multiple global editions will see significant cuts, according to Keith J. Kelly at the New York Post, and will now be largely assembled out of the main New York office. The biggest impact, Kelly reports, may be in London, which has seemingly served as a central point for much of the global edition editing in the past. That would likely mean much of the London-based staff, as well as staff in other international offices, will be eliminated.

The cuts will also reportedly include the end of the South Pacific edition, currently produced in Sydney, Australia. That publication will become a duplicate of the Asian edition starting in 2009, the Post reports. Nine journalists from the Sydney office already say they’ve been told they’re losing their jobs.

“Time‘s international edition that goes through Europe and Asia, that will be brought down here, but basically we won’t be producing it in Sydney anymore,” Time Australia Editor Steve Waterson explained to the Daily Telegraph.

European, Middle Eastern, and African editions are also said to be preparing to start pulling most of their content from the Asian magazine.

Further layoffs are expected, with rumors suggesting the Los Angeles, Berlin, and Jerusalem offices could be hit next.

(Via Paid Content)

Time Magazine Trims Back Its Global Editions is a post from: The Inquisitr