The World's most influential people 2008

According to TIME magazine that is. Here's the full list:

ARTISTS & ENTERTAINERS
Lorne Michaels
Miley Cyrus (she gets everywhere, my sister was bitching to me on the 'phone today about how much money lil' Miley earns and she wasn't happy about it. I told her to wait a couple of years and we'll have another Britney Spears/Lindsay Lohan on our hands - you know it's true!)
Robert Downey Jr.
Herbie Hancock
Joel & Ethan Coen
Bruce Springsteen
Peter Gelb
Mariah Carey
Khaled Hosseini
Elizabeth Gilbert
Rem Koolhaas
Judd Apatow
Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy
George Clooney
Tim Russert
Suze Orman
Stephenie Meyer
Tyler Perry
Tom Stoppard
Chris Rock
Takashi Murakami

LEADERS & REVOLUTIONARIES
Dalai Lama
Vladimir Putin
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
John McCain
Hu Jintao
George W. Bush
Jacob Zuma
Anwar Ibrahim
Kevin Rudd
Bartholomew I
Ben Bernanke
Muqtada al-Sadr
Robert Gates
Michelle Bachelet
Sonia Gandhi
Baitullah Mehsud
Evo Morales
Ma Ying-jeou
Ashfaq Kayani

HEROES & PIONEERS
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
Oprah Winfrey
Oscar Pistorius
Mia Farrow
Andre Agassi
Lance Armstrong
Bob and Suzanne Wright
Peter Gabriel
Kaká
Sheik Mohammed al-Maktoum
Yoani Sánchez
Madeeha Hasan Odhaib
Randy Pausch
Lorena Ochoa
Tony Blair
Alexis Sinduhije
Aung San Suu Kyi
George Mitchell

SCIENTISTS & THINKERS
Michael Bloomberg
Craig Venter
Jill Bolte Taylor
Larry Brilliant
Jeff Han
Mehmet Oz
Nancy Brinker
Harold McGee
Peter Pronovost
Eric Chivian & Richard Cizik
Mary Lou Jepsen
Paul Allen
Nicholas Schiff
Mark Zuckerberg
Wendy Kopp
Shinya Yamanaka & James Thomson
Michael Griffin
Susan Solomon
Isaac Berzin

BUILDERS & TITANS
Indra Nooyi
Ali al-Naimi
Rupert Murdoch
Steve Jobs
Radiohead
John Chambers
Jeff Bezos
Jay Adelson
Steve Ballmer
Jamie Dimon
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
Lou Jiwei
Neelie Kroes
Jeffrey Immelt
Karl Lagerfeld
Lloyd Blankfein
Carlos Slim
Mo Ibrahim
Ratan Tata
Cynthia Carroll
Carine Roitfeld
Michael Arrington

Chris Rock calls George Bush a retard!

In the latest online issue of Life magazine, comedian Chris Rock refers to George Bush as a retard!

In the interview, which you can read here, Rock is asked if the US is ready for an African American president. Rock replies "It's ready for a retarded president, why wouldn't it be ready for an African American president?"

I like Chris Rock, he's not suffering from the homophobia that a lot of comedians think is amusing. When asked in the same interview if he would be happy if one of his daughters married a guy like Chris Rock, Rock replies "I'd be happy if they married any guy or girl. I don't care, just be happy".

When I was in South Africa last year, I toured one of the townships outside Johannesburg. Our guide took a detour to one of the churches in the township and, after showing us around, he showed us the visitors book, pointing out some of the notable names who'd also visited the church. Amongst the politicians and dignitaries names was a certain Chris Rock.