BrutalTruth.ca is proud to present you the nominees for the Golden Turd Award as 2012′s Bullshitter of the Year. Cast your vote below. The nominees are:
Gary Bettman
Commissioner, National Hockey League
Mr. Bettman has been at the helm of the National Hockey League for over two decades. During his tenure as NHL Commissioner, his reputation has been tainted as he oversaw three separate work stoppages over the last 19 years, including the elimination of the entire 2004-05 season. The cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season marked the first time that a major North American sports league cancelled a season due to a labour dispute.
This season appears headed for cancellation as well as no deal seems imminent between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association.
Donald Fehr
Executive Director, National Hockey League Player’s Association
While you have Gary Bettman on the one side, Don Fehr is his counterpart representing the interests of the NHL Players’ Association. Fehr was recruited by the NHLPA in December, 2010 for the express purpose of being the players’ point man in the event of a labour stoppage. Fehr previously was the head of Major League Baseball Players’ Association and his a highly skilled negotiator.
While the public tends to be more sympathetic to the players, Donald Fehr certainly has to be held accountable as well for his part in this ongoing NHL labour dispute.
Bashar Hafez al-Assad
President of Syria
Syria’s President has been under the gun for almost two years, pressured to step down in the face of growing opposition to his rule. Assad succeeded his father as President of Syria, and has since ruled the country with an iron fist. The revolution against him has only grown and the country is now in a state of civil war, with an estimated 40,000 Syrians killed in the conflict.
As of today, there are reports that the Syrian military has made all necessary preparations to deploy chemical weapons against the opposition militias, with one report indicating that the Syrian army is simply waiting on a presidential order to launch missiles carrying a chemical payload. The use of chemical weapons is often a sign that the regime is losing the battle and may be on the verge of being toppled.
Robert Ford
Mayor of the City of Toronto, Canada
Rob Ford was elected mayor of Canada’s largest city in 2010 as a wave of recession-weary citizens flocked to the polls to support Ford’s message of “respect for taxpayers” and ending senseless municipal government spending. Ford; however, had always been a polarizing and controversial figure at Toronto City Hall and his outbursts toward city councillors and the media became legendary.
In December, 2012 an Ontario judge ruled that Mayor Ford had breached the province’s conflict of interest law by participating in debate and voting on a measure to have Ford repay a donation of $3,000 to a charity he runs. Council had brought the matter up for debate because Ford had solicited the funds using city property. The judge had ordered Ford to vacate his seat as Toronto mayor, but an appelate court judge has granted a stay of proceedings, allowing Ford to remain mayor until an appeal is adjudicated. Should Ford lose in the appeal court, it would mark the first time a chief executive has been forced from office in Canada by the courts.
Jenny Hyun
Korean-American Songwriter
Jenny Hyun is definitely one of the lesser-known figures on our list this year, but she made some serious headlines for a racist tirade which was initially directed at boxer Floyd Mayweather and escalated to calling for the extermination of African-Americans. Sources close to Hyun had released a statement shortly after the Twitter tantrum stating that Hyun was a schitzophrenic and that she was seeking help. This claim has never been substantiated and much of the general public believe that the mental illness was a convenient excuse.
After a short hiatus from social media and her own website, Hyun came back over the summer with blog posts which suggest that she was sexually assaulted by a black nurse in 2010, and continues to maintain that African-American culture is largely responsible for the social ills of the United States. Anyone looking for her on Twitter can find her at @onlinejennycom.
Mohamed Morsi
President of Egypt
In the aftermath of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation amid huge popular protests, Morsi was elected president in June, 2012. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and, despite having won a competitive election contest, it is feared that Morsi is steering the country into a hardline, Islamist ideology.
In November, 2012 Morsi issued a decree giving him almost absolute power by rendering his decrees immune of judicial action and moved quickly to expedite the drafting of a new Egyptian constitution that would align itself with more extreme Muslim teachings. The decree also empowers Morsi to take any and all measures to “protect the revolution” that permitted his ascent to the Egyptian presidency. This power-grab prompted massive protests in what Egyptians are now calling “the 2nd Revolution” and critics are now characterizing Morsi as “Egypt’s new pharaoh”
Who will win the “Golden Turd” as the 2012 Bullshitter of the Year? Cast your ballot below:
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