Parade Magazine's 2010 list of the world's ten worst dictators

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Fraggle Rocker, Dec 25, 2009.

  1. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    • 1. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe, up from #6 last year. Age 85, 29 years in power. 85% unemployment, nearly exponential inflation, critical health conditions, no elections, violent and often deadly persecution of opponents. Tolerated by the U.S. government due to imports of key ingredients in stainless steel.
    • 2. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan, stayed at #2. Age 65, 20 years in power. Responsible for war crimes, most notably the Darfur tragedy, driving nearly 3 million people from their homes and resulting in the rape, torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of others. Despite sanctions, U.S. trade with Sudan increased last year, but it's difficult to find a way to help the people without supporting the government at least minimally. The International Criminal Court has an arrest warrant for him but he has evaded capture.
    • 3. Kim Jong-Il, North Korea, down from #1. Age 67, 15 years in power. One of the world's most repressive regimes imprisons hundreds of thousands of citizens--even children--in labor camps for such "crimes" as hoarding food and anti-socialist activities. The U.S. government is very hostile to Kim, but only since he came close to developing nuclear weapons.
    • 4. Than Shwe, Burma, down from #3. Age 76, 17 years in power. Garden-variety despot in a country that has been lawless for decades, but especially despised for his cruelty. After the recent hurricane he blocked access by foreign aid groups, leaving more than 100,000 dead or missing and two million homeless. Noted for persecuting Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The U.S. government opposes him, but with no selfish reason to fear him they have taken few concrete steps to help his people.
    • 5. King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia, down from #4. Age 85, 14 years in power. The country has no legal code and trials are often rigged. Under an extreme form of sharia law Saudi women are second-class citizens who can do virtually nothing outside the home without permission from their father, husband or other male guardian--although the country's high level of prosperity from petroleum exports buys the tacit complicity of many influential female citizens. Christian churches are outlawed, and in one shocking news item male firefighters refused to rescue screaming girls from a burning school. The U.S. government overlooks all of this because it is dependent on Saudi oil. President Bush, the treasonous scion of the petroleum industry, even lied egregiously to his people in order to convince them that Afghanistan and Iraq were responsible for 9/11, rather than the Saudis.
    • 6. Hu Jintao, China, down from #5. Age 66, 6 years in power. Compared to #1-#5, Hu seems almost benevolent, especially considering China's remarkable economic progress. Nonetheless his human rights record is abysmal by civilized standards. Freedom of speech and religion are stifled, and ethnic minorities are persecuted, often brutally by private citizens while the police look the other way or actually arrest the victims. Political and religious dissidents are legally held in labor camps for four years without trial. China is the U.S.'s #1 creditor and the largest country on earth, so the government's criticisms of their policies is muted.
    • #7 Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Iran, stayed at #7. Age 69, 20 years in power. The Ayatollah persecutes religious and ethnic minorities, women's rights activists, journalists, and non-violent critics of his regime, whose "morality police" brutally enforce many of the provisions of sharia law, such as not allowing too much of a woman's hair to poke out under her scarf. Motorcycle-riding paramilitary forces were called into action to stifle recent protests over election irregularities. The U.S. government's criticism of the Khamenei government is limited to words, despite an enmity going back to the occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran 30 years ago, despite fears of Iran's nuclear program, and despite Iran's support of Palestinian terrorist groups. Trade between Iran and the U.S. flourishes.
    • 8. Isayas Afewerki, Eritrea, up from #10. Age 63, 18 years in power. Afewerki has postponed elections for "three or four decades." All media is government controlled and journalists have been imprisoned for as long as eight years. The U.S. government has banned the sale of arms to Eritrea, but only because it believes he aids terrorists.
    • 9. Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov, Turkmenistan, unranked last year. Age 51, 3 years in power. Berdymuhammedov has superficially cleaned up the despotic regime of Saparmurat Niyazov, who renamed the months after himself and his mother. But he has retained most of Niyazov’s repressive policies. Political prisoners remain behind bars, all media is controlled by the government, opposition parties are not allowed, and the practice of religion is restricted. The U.S. imports oil from Turkmenistan (Chevron has an office in the capital) and Boeing sells aircraft to the government.
    • 10. Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya, up from #11. Age 66, 39 years in power. Speaking out against the government is punishable by life imprisonment and reports of torture are common. In the past Qaddafi was linked to terrorist activities, but in recent years he has tried to avoid angering the major powers. The U.S. imports petroleum from Libya and President Bush's secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a state visit to the country, the first in 55 years.
    For #11-20, see Parade.com.
     
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  3. countezero Registered Senior Member

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  5. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    what year's list are you two looking at??
     
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  7. Henrik77 Registered Senior Member

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    And about Hugo Chavez? Forgotten?

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  8. countezero Registered Senior Member

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    He's definitely an authoritarian meat-head, but he hasn't exactly trammeled on his people in quite the same way. So far, he seems content to run roughshod over the political structure in a bid to make himself more powerful. He hasn't exactly started infringing on human rights yet. Political rights, that's another story...
     
  9. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    How about just top ten worst leaders in general?
     
  10. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    As much as I hate that guy, he nothing compared to most of the assholes on the list, sure Chavez has horded power, taken over the Venezuelan media, threatened and impression opponents and denouncers, but he has not kill a million people in death camps like Kim Jong, or a muli-million genocidal killing spree like Omar al-Bashir, etc, Chavez has very populist polices and thus the people have traded freedoms for food and jobs, he a dictator most can live with until he starts a war with Columbia brought on by has cocaine addiction paranoia and fascist dreams of reforming the gran columbia.
     
  11. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    We're jumping to conclusions here; being a dictator doesn't necessarily make you bad, but being a bad dictator makes you bad.


    There have been plenty of brilliant and honest dictators and Kings.
     
  12. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    Give an example of one of these wholesome dictators? A modern 20th century one that was not a royal dynasty.
     
  13. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    You're restricting my time period. If you wouldn't, I could list Caesar and Octavian and all the Roman emperors during the Pax Romana; also Alexander of Macedonia; also Napoleon; Justinian; the Caliphs; Charlemagne.

    All of these people, for instance Alexander who was taught by Aristotle, and Charlemagne who expanded education and culture, were brilliant leaders.

    It's hard to give you 20th century examples because of the rise of democratism. However if you are so keen, I can get back to you on this.
     
  14. kmguru Staff Member

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    Without past dictators, human society would still be in the caves....
     
  15. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    The ceasers were something else, so are kings and queens, We have hundreds even thousands of years of legend to cloud are vision of them.

    Good luck.

    "Strong men" and dictators are different things.
     
  16. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    If they were tyrants, then we would hear only negative about them and we don't. You can't deny the advances of Caesar, Octavian, Napoleon, or Charlemagne.

    Charlemagne is one of the "Fathers" of Europe.
     
  17. kmguru Staff Member

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  18. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    Strong men as say Jared Diamond or J. R. McNeill (history professors and sociologist who write things call books about history and society... I'm sure I need to describe that to you) have used the term "strong men" for people of antiquity that unified tribes and were the foundation of early civilization, today's so call strongmen are merely criminals, as civilizations has far exceeded what they could provide.
     
  19. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    I wouldn't say so; look at what Octavian, Charlemagne, and Napoleon provided. Authority isn't so bad a thing, y'know.
     
  20. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    they were not "strong men" in an anthropological sense, they existed within a relatively developed civilizations, "strong men" of such actually founded civilizations, men like Lycurgus for example.
     
  21. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    That's what I said.
     
  22. baftan ******* Valued Senior Member

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    Is this a sarcasm or a real opinion. If it's real, can you give some examples?

    I think agricultural revolution, which got us from caves, didn't happened because of dictators. Industrial revolution or the global communication systems have also nothing to do with dictators.

    What's your criteria on direct relation between dictators and human social development process that rescued us from the caves?

    If your statement is not a sarcastic one, of course...
     
  23. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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