The New Statesman has publised its list of the top 50 'Heroes of our Time', as decided by its readers (I didn't vote). While most of them are fairly obvious: Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and so on, others were a bit of a shock.

John Pilger at No. 5!

For giving a voice to millions whose plights would otherwise have gone unreported in the mainstream media; for regularly and willingly exposing himself to mockery and vilification by those who lack his principles and moral courage; and, to put it crudely, for having more balls than the rest of the fourth estate put together.
Tim Russell, Ho Chi Minh City

Campaigns vigorously and tenaciously to expose the hypocrisy and evil in the policies of western governments through his journalism. He is timeless and relentless in championing the underdog, particularly the oppressed people of the third world.
E M Matthew, Alford, Aberdeenshire

The Dalai Lama only managed to make tenth place. Although both of them were beaten by Bob Geldof at No. 3.

The idea of heat death stems from the second law of thermodynamics, which claims that entropy tends to increase in an isolated system. Our perfect snowman reached maximum entropy, and it was beautiful.

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