NationStates Jolt Archive

Alright, amybe he is, maybe he isn't, but I think he has even Gadhafi beat for pure craziness, and the best part is, I bet nobody here has ever heard of him:
Saparmurat Niyazov, Leader of Turkmenistan

Here are some examples of his craziness:
He renamed the town of Krasnovodsk, on the Caspian Sea, Turkmenbashi after himself, in addition to renaming several schools, airports and even a meteorite after himself and his immediate family. His face appears on all Manat banknotes and large portraits of the President hang all over the country, especially on major public buildings and avenues, and statues of himself and his mother are scattered all over Turkmenistan.
"I'm personally against seeing my pictures and statues in the streets - but it's what the people want.", Niyazov said.
He has also banned long hair, beards, and gold teeth.
Niyazov is often noted for his unconventional policies. For example, in August 2004, he ordered that a giant ice palace be constructed in the middle of the desert country, although many observers have said that without some form of technical assistance it will be an impossible dream. He also announced two decrees, the first of which stated that television presenters were banned from wearing make-up as the President had difficulty telling male and female newsreaders apart. The second declared that the chewing of tobacco on Turkmen territory was to be outlawed (because Niyazov had to give up smoking after a successful anti-cancer operation).
In 2004 Niyazov dismissed 15,000 medical workers, replacing them with army conscripts. He followed up this action on 1 March 2005 by ordering the closure of all hospitals outside of Ashgabat. He pronounced on February 28th, 2005: "Why should we waste good medical specialists on the villages when they should be working in the capital?".

Nice guy, eh?

I wonder if he would run as a Democrat or a Republican?

Alright, amybe he is, maybe he isn't, but I think he has even Gadhafi beat for pure craziness, and the best part is, I bet nobody here has ever heard of him:
Saparmurat Niyazov, Leader of Turkmenistan


Yes, I've heard of him, and I agree he's probably the most insane national leader alive today. (I'm firmly convinced Kim is just pretending to be insane to make everyone nervous. ;) )

Yes, I've heard of him, and I agree he's probably the most insane national leader alive today. (I'm firmly convinced Kim is just pretending to be insane to make everyone nervous. ;) )

I lose my bet :(

I read about him the other day, purely by chance, and I was blown away! How come this guy gets no media attention? I mean, hell, ice palace in the middle of the desert- this guy is hilarious, if only he weren't responsible for millions of lives.

George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Joseph Stalin
Edward I of England
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Manuel Noriega
Ariel Sharon
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
Henry V of England

The list goes on...

George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Joseph Stalin
Edward I of England
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Manuel Noriega
Ariel Sharon
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
Henry V of England

The list goes on...

Read the first post.
Besides, you can't compare Bush to this guy.

I heard of him. The guys completely bonkers. He's the most batshit leader since Mohammed Mossadegh (sp?).

Nixon did a lot of good for the country before his deplorable act.

Mbeki is an idiot as well.

Alright, amybe he is, maybe he isn't, but I think he has even Gadhafi beat for pure craziness, and the best part is, I bet nobody here has ever heard of him:
Saparmurat Niyazov, Leader of TurkmenistanYes, I've heard of him, and I agree he's probably the most insane national leader alive today. (I'm firmly convinced Kim is just pretending to be insane to make everyone nervous. ;) )I know who Niyazov is too. And although he is probably a megalomaniac or has no sense of other people's importance, he was ranked #7 on the list of Worst Dictators of 2004, behind Kim, Hu Jintao, Than Shwe, and a lot of other human rights violators. Keep trying, Sap! :)

I heard of him. The guys completely bonkers. He's the most batshit leader since Mohammed Mossadegh (sp?).

Mossadegh was pretty nutty, from the article I just skimmed- bathrobe in Parliament? I don't know if he's got Niyazov beat, though.

Mugabe ranks highly alongside this guy.

Mbeki is an idiot as well.

He's done stupid stuff, but I don't think he's actually crazy.

George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Joseph Stalin
Edward I of England
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Manuel Noriega
Ariel Sharon
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
Henry V of England

The list goes on...

why is winston there

Mbeki is an idiot as well.

There's the understatement of the century! :p

Mugabe ranks highly alongside this guy.

Mugabe isn't insane or stupid, he's just pure evil.

Nixon did a lot of good for the country before his deplorable act.

Nixon wasn't crazy- just a scumbag.

Mugabe isn't insane or stupid, he's just pure evil.

At least he's understandable- he's a power-hungry xenophobe.

Nixon wasn't crazy- just a scumbag.

in that case, Clinton belongs on the list. hehe

At least he's understandable- he's a power-hungry xenophobe.

As well as a racist, homophobe, anti-Semite, and all-around asshole.

Going by the UN Index, Niyazov's Turkmenistan would rank as a "Psychotic Dictatorship". On the other hand, if there was one, Kim Jong Il's would be a "Sadistic Dictatorship". Psychotic Dictatorship assumes that the dictator is crazy; Sadistic Dictatorship assumes that he/she is just evil.

Although I shouldn't use "evil", as it doesn't really exist…although that's a topic for another thread.

As well as a racist, homophobe, anti-Semite, and all-around asshole.

Agreed. Xenophobe covered everything but the "all-round asshole" bit.

in that case, Clinton belongs on the list. hehe

I think fairly elected democratic leaders have an excuse- if people are stupid enough to vote for them . . .

I think fairly elected democratic leaders have an excuse- if people are stupid enough to vote for them . . .See also George W. Bush.

See also George W. Bush.

I wouldn't include him in this list either . . . or that sellout Mulroney . . .

TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA

Country: Equatorial Guinea

Age: 61 In power: 25 yrs

Although oil-rich, 60 per cent of the people in this tiny West African nation live on 60p a day.

Obiang is believed to have a £500million fortune and is in "permanent contact with the Almighty", according to state radio. He "can decide to kill without being called to account". He also eats the testicles of executed prisoners.

Czardas its not G.W. Bush Jr.'s fault that he is elected, it's the fault of American "democracy".

At least I can't see how You can call it democracy, when the person with most votes cannot win.

It looks that democracy is not that simple after all.

But I am stupid(?)

TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA

Country: Equatorial Guinea

Age: 61 In power: 25 yrs

Although oil-rich, 60 per cent of the people in this tiny West African nation live on 60p a day.

Obiang is believed to have a £500million fortune and is in "permanent contact with the Almighty", according to state radio. He "can decide to kill without being called to account". He also eats the testicles of executed prisoners.Is this from the same article I read? ("The World's Top Ten Dictators" by David Wallechinsky) Or Obiang's personal website?

This guy is just about as insane as Niyazov, and even more sexist. (Come on…he only executes male prisoners?) just kidding ;)

TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA

Country: Equatorial Guinea

Age: 61 In power: 25 yrs

Although oil-rich, 60 per cent of the people in this tiny West African nation live on 60p a day.

Obiang is believed to have a £500million fortune and is in "permanent contact with the Almighty", according to state radio. He "can decide to kill without being called to account". He also eats the testicles of executed prisoners.

The president's paranoid actions included banning use of the word "intellectual" and destroying boats (fishing was banned).

Yep, I'd say he's pretty damn qualified for this list.

In fact U.S. looks a lot (at least to the rest of the world) like Soviet Union used to look earlier.

Did You know that U.S. has the most biggest censorship machine in the world?

It looks that I am off topic, sorry for that

Czardas its not G.W. Bush Jr.'s fault that he is elected, it's the fault of American "democracy".

At least I can't see how You can call it democracy, when the person with most votes cannot win.

It looks that democracy is not that simple after all.

But I am stupid(?)

Look, even when he was against Gore, he got more than 45% of the vote. Lots of people support him, he's not a dictator, etc. This last election proved that his support has increased, not decreased, so he shouldn't be included.
Besides, he hasn't done anything nearly as crazy as these nuts.

From World factbook.

"Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed"

That is quite the democratic Party!

"President: Saparmyrat Atayevich Niyazov

Turkmen President Niyazov
President Niyazov: Enjoys an unrivalled personality cult
Born in 1940, Saparmyrat Niyazov became Turkmen Communist Party chief in 1985. In 1991 he was elected the first president of independent Turkmenistan, and in 1999 the country's supreme legislative body, the Mejlis, made him president-for-life. "


The months of the year have been changed as have the days off the week.
January will now be called Turkmenbashi v in honor of the president.

Czardas its not G.W. Bush Jr.'s fault that he is elected, it's the fault of American "democracy".

At least I can't see how You can call it democracy, when the person with most votes cannot win.

It looks that democracy is not that simple after all.

But I am stupid(?)America isn't a democracy. It's a republic. We've got electors to elect our president for us. And the electors are supposed to vote for whatever the majority of voters in their state did. The reason why Bush was elected in the first place is because he won the majority of states, but large minorities of each state supported Gore. Therefore Gore won the popular vote while Bush won the electoral vote because of a strange and purposeless system put in place by the Twelfth Amendment way back in 1808.

If you ask me, we shouldn't have an electoral vote. But then I can't do much about it. Except start a new thread…

TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA

Country: Equatorial Guinea

Age: 61 In power: 25 yrs

Although oil-rich, 60 per cent of the people in this tiny West African nation live on 60p a day.

Obiang is believed to have a £500million fortune and is in "permanent contact with the Almighty", according to state radio. He "can decide to kill without being called to account". He also eats the testicles of executed prisoners.

It's this kind of country the US should be invading (though of course pacifists would denounce them . . .)
It's this kind of country someone seen as less partisan than the US should invade.

Ubiqtorate You are right, I apologise.

Russian presiden Yeltsin has grabbed all power, so my vote goes to him this time.

I think Russia could use a strong dictator to get the wheels spinning again (as quite a bunch of other contries too).

Why dictatorship is so frightening?

Don't forget José Eduardo dos Santos. Angola's "president". He is filthy rich at the expense of the land and the people of Angola, while the population starves and lives mostly in misery. Now he's trying to keep the Marburg Virus from spreading but not by quarantining or anything, but by silencing the media, etc, so no one knows what a disaster it is.

Ubiqtorate You are right, I apologise.

Russian presiden Yeltsin has grabbed all power, so my vote goes to him this time.

I think Russia could use a strong dictator to get the wheels spinning again (as quite a bunch of other contries too).

Why dictatorship is so frightening?

The current president of Russia is Vladimir Putin.

I don't know this Niyazov guy, but a friend of mine persuaded me to visit the official webpage of North Korea.
If anybody is to exceed revolutionary great leader Kim, who is forever in the hearts of the Korean people...(and so on and on and on...), he's got to be, er, sorry, just ran out of apropriate words. :rolleyes:

Do You people know what is going in Chetchenya at the moment by Russians? Mass Murder.

I've spoken to quite a many russians, and ALL of them are against Chechenian war, so why do they fight?

That's all

I meant Putin, sorry

Do You people know what is going in Chetchenya at the moment by Russians? Mass Murder.

I've spoken to quite a many russians, and ALL of them are against Chechenian war, so why do they fight?

That's all

Chechnya is permitted because Russia is huge and powerful.
Also, Putin has been using the terrorism by Chechens as an excuse to fight- for instance the Moscow Theatre incident.

It's this kind of country the US should be invading.

nah never happen - there's no oil there ;)

nah never happen - there's no oil there ;)

It's described as oil-rich . . .

I think the ex Ugandan dictator. Whatsisname is also crazy.

I think there are a lot of crazy dictators in the world today. Niyazov is just one of them. The problem is, most of them rule in small and "unimportant" countries that we don't ever hear about.

I think there are a lot of crazy dictators in the world today. Niyazov is just one of them. The problem is, most of them rule in small and "unimportant" countries that we don't ever hear about.

The sorts of countries where "nation building" would be much easier than it is in Iraq . . .

It's described as oil-rich . . .


hence the ;)

its called irony ;)

George W. Bush

Winston Churchill





You've got bush and churchill on the same list. What dont you understand?

hence the ;)

its called irony ;)

Ahh . . . . .
Stop winking at me! I don't understand!!! Is he saying I'm stupid for not understanding irony? But the wink indicates an inside joke . . . but I don't understand the joke! Maybe it's ironic because he's using irony to comment on irony? Ahhhh!! :headbang:

Ahh . . . . .
Stop winking at me! I don't understand!!! Is he saying I'm stupid for not understanding irony? But the wink indicates an inside joke . . . but I don't understand the joke! Maybe it's ironic because he's using irony to comment on irony? Ahhhh!! :headbang:And the worst part is, we're all in on the joke. Except you…

Starting to sound a little like a cheap psychological thriller, isn't it? ;)

And the worst part is, we're all in on the joke. Except you…

Starting to sound a little like a cheap psychological thriller, isn't it? ;)

The winking . . . the horrible, omnipresent winking . . .

I think the ex Ugandan dictator. Whatsisname is also crazy.

Amin Dada aka Idi Amin. Cannibal, mass murderer and trusted friend of the western world. (Including my home country's guvmint at that time)

although i'd love to be able to put bush on this list (although not really cause that'd make him crazier) but he's just stupid.

Do You people know what is going in Chetchenya at the moment by Russians? Mass Murder.

I've spoken to quite a many russians, and ALL of them are against Chechenian war, so why do they fight?

That's all

I read an article lately, in the stars and stripes magazine, that the prison of Abu Ghraib (sp?) is to be removed and sent to Chechenia. ;)

although i'd love to be able to put bush on this list (although not really cause that'd make him crazier) but he's just stupid.Actually, someone on another thread disagreed with you and I forgot who it was, but that person decided that Bush was actually really smart and pretending to be stupid to gain votes from idiots. (Hey, they have the right to vote too, don't they?)

Bush is an easy cleche; Personally I don't give anything either way as I needent be concerned with US politics as I am of Celtic origin.

As for Turkmenistan the less said the better.
However I believe that quoting Winston Churchill as crazy is idiocy in itself for reasons which are too many to stick in one post and I don't believe in filling forums with crap no-one'll read anyway; I shall only therefor point out that Churchills actions Pre-WII were entirely justified and that the choices he made at that time determined if I would be writing this message or not, and for that I am more than grateful.

"George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Joseph Stalin
Edward I of England
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Manuel Noriega
Ariel Sharon
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
Henry V of England

The list goes on..."

You would put Ariel Sharon in with a list of dictators? he is a properly elected leader of a civilized democracy (the only in the mid east), and he enacts measures necessary to the security and safety of his country an because of this he is bashed and the "palistinians" are glorified, even though there was no such people until they decided they needed an "oppressed" race to help in the destruction of Israel. Know what your saying before you spout out something you heard in the US news.

Most of the Holy Roman Emperors. Figureheads for the German barons one and all.

"George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Ariel Sharon
Winston Churchill


The list goes on..."

You would put Ariel Sharon in with a list of dictators?

Lots of names on that list weren't dictators- and we've established that any democratically elected and maintained leader is well-deserved, if people are stupid enough to vote for them.

Most of the Holy Roman Emperors. Figureheads for the German barons one and all.Also add the following names: Caligula, Nero, Caracalla, and Diocletian. (Yes, today we think of Diocletian as a "good guy", but he turned imperial Rome into a feudal system. The rest were just crazy emperors. We all know the stories.)

Also add the following names: Caligula, Nero, Caracalla, and Diocletian. (Yes, today we think of Diocletian as a "good guy", but he turned imperial Rome into a feudal system. The rest were just crazy emperors. We all know the stories.)

Not many people try to burn down their own city. :p

Also add the following names: Caligula, Nero, Caracalla, and Diocletian. (Yes, today we think of Diocletian as a "good guy", but he turned imperial Rome into a feudal system. The rest were just crazy emperors. We all know the stories.)

There is evidence today to suggest a number of emperors suffered from varied mental illnesses, and Roman culinary practice gave them all lead poisoning.

"George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Joseph Stalin
Edward I of England
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Manuel Noriega
Ariel Sharon
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
Henry V of England

The list goes on..."

You would put Ariel Sharon in with a list of dictators? he is a properly elected leader of a civilized democracy (the only in the mid east), and he enacts measures necessary to the security and safety of his country an because of this he is bashed and the "palistinians" are glorified, even though there was no such people until they decided they needed an "oppressed" race to help in the destruction of Israel. Know what your saying before you spout out something you heard in the US news.


Stalin did everything for the good and the security of the soviet union and its people.

Sharon is a dictator of the one percent majority, same as bush.

Not many people try to burn down their own city. :pActually, to this day most people don't know whether or not Nero set the fire that gutted Rome. But he's unquestionably the most insane ruler of Imperial Rome. However, in the world, there are some worse'uns… for example Cheops, pharaoh of Egypt, had a giant pyramid be built to himself. Pretty megalomaniacal, eh?

Stalin did everything for the good and the security of the soviet union and its people.

Sharon is a dictator of the one percent majority, same as bush.Really? Putting all those people in gulags and sending political dissenters to Siberia was all for the good of the Soviet Union?

Oh wait, I get it. You're being sarcastic. :rolleyes:

Stalin did everything for the good and the security of the soviet union and its people.

Sharon is a dictator of the one percent majority, same as bush.

Your right, i spoke carelessly in my emotion and accidentally defended the freedom for safety argument used by so many dictators or elected usurpers. However, Israel is a small country in a sea of powerful enemies and would be squashed like a bug if it didn't do the things Sharon is bashed for.

Why should there have to be a choice between safety and freedom? Can't we have a free democracy with a well-funded military to keep out terrorists? The dictators who say "freedom for safety" are simply looking out for more power, not for their people.

Also, New Granada, since when are dictators elected?

Your right, i spoke carelessly in my emotion and accidentally defended the freedom for safety argument used by so many dictators or elected usurpers. However, Israel is a small country in a sea of powerful enemies and would be squashed like a bug if it didn't do the things Sharon is bashed for.

Not all of Isreal's leaders have been like Sharon and the country still exists.

Stalin did everything for the good and the security of the soviet union and its people.

Sharon is a dictator of the one percent majority, same as bush.

Except the twenty million plus people who died because of him of course. They didn't matter. Damn those dissidents! Making honest dictators look bad by going and needing killed!

The only one who really ranks up there with Niyazov in terms of pure insanity, IMHO, is Obiang Nguema (Equatorial Guinea). The reason why nobody ever talks about them, other than the fact most people sadly wouldn't know how to find their country on a map (I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't even be sure of the continent! Ignorance is an astounding thing when you begin to sound its depths...), is because neither of them are a threat to the outside world. A lot of people seem not to give a damn what's going on in other countries, as long as it's not going to affect them.

By the way, since someone mentioned it, this (http://www.korea-dpr.com/) is North Korea's official website. And this (http://210.145.168.243/pk/) is the People's Korea, a DPRK online newspaper. I used to read it regularly; it's fascinatingly weird to view the world from a North Korean perspective...

How about Pol Pot as a crazy-ass leader?

Ahh . . . . .
Stop winking at me! I don't understand!!! Is he saying I'm stupid for not understanding irony? But the wink indicates an inside joke . . . but I don't understand the joke! Maybe it's ironic because he's using irony to comment on irony? Ahhhh!! :headbang:


well one thing you didnt get is that I am not male :P

the ;) was there to denote irony (or maybe sarcasm) as so many people said the US went to Iraq purely due to their oil reserves

now if this was the case surely the US would have gone after Equatorial Guinea instead as they would be an easier target (smaller nation and alot less advanced army) especially as Teodoro make saddam look mildly eccentric and therefore provides almost as good an excuse as their 'freeing Iraq from oppressive governement so they can be a democratic nation' gumpf

that said I do think the US has no business in Iraq and I would really appreciate it if their allegedly 'best trained army in the world' stopped using the UK army as target practice but they did get rid of Saddam - they came VERY close to getting Osama (in fact if they had left Iraq alone for 12 months longer they probably would have had Osama sat in a cell next to Mr Hussain by now) and at least they haven't run off home and have stayed to help mop up and restablise the country

Except the twenty million plus people who died because of him of course. They didn't matter. Damn those dissidents! Making honest dictators look bad by going and needing killed!

Acculy, 20mill died in WWII. However, around 12mill of those *I THINK* were because of Stalin.

Stalin killed more Russians then the Germans did!

Stalin, is the worst. Hands down. I don't think anyone comes close.

Wikipedia (great website) includes "an extraordinary amount of personal power" and "In the modern definition, "dictatorship" is associated with brutality and oppression."

Richard Nixon refused to rat out details about a burglary and erased tapes of him talking about that burglary. He also opened negotiations and trade with Communist China, began a withdrawal from Vietnam and gave American Indians the right to vote. The fact he would be on the list just shows your blanket hatred or ignorance. Which is it?

George W Bush has been stalemated by Congress on many issues. He's been supported on many issues. My life in America is very comfortable under him, as it was under Bill Clinton. Neither of these gentleman deserve to be on the list either. Again don't let hatred stagger your intelligence. Look at the facts.

That said I would nominate Kim Jong Il. Besides being a maniacal dictator who has starved an estimated 2 million people (don't forget cannibalism) to spend 40% of his national GNP on the military, he has the world's largest collection of Daffy Duck collection...not joking...and Friday the 13th is his favorite movie

I nominate Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, for sheer incompetency. SA is one of the leading countries for AIDS and Mbeki refuses even to acknowledge the connection between HIV and AIDS.

I also nominate Kil-Jong-Il of North Korea. He spends money on the über-massive military, genocide programmes and propaganda while most of his people starve to death. He even tries to propagandise foreign people. In a recent North-South Korea film festival, Kim threatened to pull all NK films out unless they showed one of his ridiculous militaristic propaganda films.

He's done stupid stuff, but I don't think he's actually crazy.
The thread is "worst leader" not "craziest".

Mugabe isn't insane or stupid, he's just pure evil.
Sort of. He's both corrupt and driven by an unworkable racist ideology.

Acculy, 20mill died in WWII. However, around 12mill of those *I THINK* were because of Stalin.

Stalin killed more Russians then the Germans did!

Stalin, is the worst. Hands down. I don't think anyone comes close.
I think Hitler and Stalin can be in the running for most evil, but they had directions for their nations, and both nations boomed under their leadership. Also, about 50 million people died in WW2 (counting the Holocaust). 20 million Soviet soldiers died, and not just at Nazi guns. About half of them were shot by fellow Russians.

The worst leaders today include:

George W Bush
Tony Blair
Silvio Berlusconi
Ariel Sharon
Kim Jong-Il
Islam Karimov
Robert Mugabe
Alvaro Uribe
John Howard
Than Shwe
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Thabo Mbeki

The Duvalier family were pretty horrible. Unfortunately, nothing funny or amusing about them, just plain horrible.

George Bush he gets away with human rights abuses by doing it sneakily and funding despotic regimes. Plus he is going to get us all fried.

I think the ex Ugandan dictator. Whatsisname is also crazy.

Idi Amin? He died in 2003.

Chechnya is permitted because Russia is huge and powerful.
Also, Putin has been using the terrorism by Chechens as an excuse to fight- for instance the Moscow Theatre incident.

First off, Russia is huge, yes, but powerful? questionable.

Putin using terrorism as an excuse to do what he wants against people he doesn't like??? Sounds familiar... Oh that's right... the UNITED STATES!!!!

The worst leaders today include:

George W Bush
Tony Blair
Silvio Berlusconi
Ariel Sharon
Kim Jong-Il
Islam Karimov
Robert Mugabe
Alvaro Uribe
John Howard
Than Shwe
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Thabo Mbeki

You make me laugh. You have Tony Blair on there (who is actually a pretty solid leader and planner) but you failed to mention Mao Tse-Tung from China? Come on, now. This is getting a little ridiculous. I can understand everybody else on the list, for the most part, but there are a few that should be added

Why should there have to be a choice between safety and freedom? Can't we have a free democracy with a well-funded military to keep out terrorists? The dictators who say "freedom for safety" are simply looking out for more power, not for their people.

Also, New Granada, since when are dictators elected?

Yes, you can strike a balance between freedom and security although it's hard. One of the places they do that in is Israel. They have been able to defend their country for over 50 years and still remains one of they most (if not the most) people controlled and free countries in the world. There’s a problem, and it's people believing the anti Semitic press. Did you notice, both people who made lists of insane rulers included Sharon, and nobody called them on it except me? It's time to clear up some misconceptions about Israel. It's not a little shithole "republic" with a dictator who fudged election results and distributes government propaganda. It is a civilized democracy with a duly elected leader. I also want to know what "like Sharon" means in the context of "not all Israeli leaders have been like Sharon."

In fact U.S. looks a lot (at least to the rest of the world) like Soviet Union used to look earlier.

Did You know that U.S. has the most biggest censorship machine in the world?

well cripes, think of all the things there are to censor in this country. a hundred network TV shows, a thousand non-pay cable TV shows, etc.

hehe

Read the first post.
Besides, you can't compare Bush to this guy.
Its funny how you left out Carter... that guy sucked to the extreme.

You make me laugh. You have Tony Blair on there (who is actually a pretty solid leader and planner) but you failed to mention Mao Tse-Tung from China? Come on, now. This is getting a little ridiculous. I can understand everybody else on the list, for the most part, but there are a few that should be added
It was a list of the worst leaders today and not those in the past in which case it would certainly include people like Hitler, Stalin or Mao. I do believe Blair is one of Britain's worst prime ministers as he has lied to the country and taken us into an illegal and immoral war while continuing many of Thatcher's failed economic policies and he has refused to deliver the progressive agenda which the Labour Party was founded on.

George W. Bush
Richard M. Nixon
Lyndon B. Johnson
Benito Mussolini
Silvio Berlusconi
Joseph Stalin
Edward I of England
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Manuel Noriega
Ariel Sharon
Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
Henry V of England

The list goes on...

Mussolini and stalin were good leaders.

I think Mussolini, Stalin, Franco, and Hitler are all good leaders. But that doesn't prevent them from being totalitarian fascist dictators.

I think my worst leader prize may go to Hitler, if only because my mom's family is Jewish, but Stalin was crazier. He named just about everything after himself and the people who bribed him to do so. Franco was also an evil dictator (sadistic), "…who outlaw[ed] just about everything and refer[red] to the people as 'my little playthings'." I suppose totalitarian police states were in fashion back in the '30s. No wonder it was called the Great Depression! ;)

My personal least favorite is Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was a violent reactionary and I have no patience for such people. Also, he was nearly as bad as Hitler, who is another evil (partially insane?) person. However, he was a good leader, so he doesn't count. Antiochus was a terrible leader. That's one reason why he had such an uprising in Judea… (see also the story of Hanukkah)

Dick Heads

Its funny how you left out Carter... that guy sucked to the extreme.
Carter did suck. He tried to master all of his aspects of policy instead of letting other people deal with him. This made it to where he got nothing accomplished.

Idi Amin? He died in 2003.

He's Dead? Oh ok. My general knowledge of Africa is very poor. But no doubt he was craaazy.

Amin Dada aka Idi Amin. Cannibal, mass murderer and trusted friend of the western world. (Including my home country's guvmint at that time)
Also the self-proclaimed King of Scotland.

I also want to know what "like Sharon" means in the context of "not all Israeli leaders have been like Sharon."
Well, not all Israeli leaders have been found responsible for massacring refugees.

all time: Hitler (I know some of you Hitler lovers and people who say "He was a good leader because he did a lot of good stuff before he killed all those Jews will be pissed, but screw you)

current: Mugabe or Bush/Cheney (again a lot of people will be pissed, but screw them)

Bush. He's not so bad, but when you consider that the U.S. is supposed to be the becaon of freedom, and we posses nuclear arms, it gets worse.

By the way, since someone mentioned it, this (http://www.korea-dpr.com/) is North Korea's official website. And this (http://210.145.168.243/pk/) is the People's Korea, a DPRK online newspaper. I used to read it regularly; it's fascinatingly weird to view the world from a North Korean perspective...

Yes, this first one is the webpage I mentioned. :headbang:

Also, I remember in college hearing about a leader named Imhotep IV of Egypt who declared himself "Ruler of the Earth and Sky, Ruler of all Mankind, Ruler of all the Birds of the Air and all the Fishes of the Sea, King of Scotland, Ruler of the Known and Unknown World, and the Great Emperor, the Son of the Gods"…and on and on and on. He apparently was pharaoh for only a couple of years before he was overthrown by his much more sensible son, Imhotep V. (This is an apocryphal story.)

Carter did suck. He tried to master all of his aspects of policy instead of letting other people deal with him. This made it to where he got nothing accomplished.
Heh, what do you expect from a peanut farmer?