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Global Putin’s Got the Power
The Agricultural Revolution.
Each year Forbes generates a list of the most powerful people in the world. The list includes heads of state, financiers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs who “rule the world.” So who are the most powerful people on the planet? The top editors at Forbes consider hundreds of nominees before finalizing their list of 72, one for every 100 million people on the planet. This year, some of those who hit the list were surprising, especially since U.S. President Barack Obama missed the number one spot. Instead, his nemesis, leader of Russia, headlined as the most powerful person on the globe. The ten most powerful people in the world are: 1. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia 2. Barack Obama, President of U.S. 3. Xi Jinping, President of China 4. Pope Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church 5. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany 6. Bill Gates, Wealthiest Man in the U.S. 7. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of Federal Reserve 8. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia 9. Mario Draghi, President of European Central Bank 10. Michael Duke, CEO of Wal-Mart
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THE JEWISH HOME n
N O V E M B E R 7 , 2013
The Week
Police in China Have Special Rules for Female Drivers The long-standing generalization that men are better drivers than women seems to be a worldwide prejudice. Recently, the Beijing police department issued some warnings specifically to women drivers in a series of micro-blog
In News postings. They warned: don’t wear high heels while driving, make sure you release the handbrake before setting off, and don’t panic if you suddenly realize you’re going the wrong way. While these admonitions may have some husbands chuckling, it sparked major backlash among Chinese Internet users who say the tips are discriminatory. “Some women drivers lack a sense of direction, and while driving a car, they often hesitate and are indecisive about which road they should take,” reads one of the suggestions, posted on the police department’s official micro-blog. The post continues on to say that women often discover that “when they’re driving by themselves, they’re not able to find the way to their destination, even if they’ve been there many times.”
Another posting features a cartoon of a confrontation between a police officer and a woman driving a vehicle shaped like a large red high-heel shoe. It relates to a story of a woman named Liu who caused an accident and then told a police officer: “I hit the brake, but my shoe got stuck in the car!” “Women drivers, please change into flat shoes when you’re driving,” the posting warns. Another driving tip points out that “while the handbrake is typically used for stopping the car’s movement, quite a few new women drivers often hurriedly get on the road without releasing it.” The posts appeared on the police department’s verified account, which has nearly six million followers. Although women in China are guaranteed equal rights under the law, there is a lot of gender discrimination in workplaces, schools and in other areas of modern life. Interestingly, according to a March 2013 World Health Organization estimate, 77% of all global road traffic deaths occur among men, and men under age 25 are nearly three times as likely to be killed in a car crash as women in the same age range.