First of all, the author of the list failed to show how King Abdullah could be considered a dictator. King Abdullah can, at worst, be considered an absolute monarch. Still, his powers are limited by the bounds of Islam and Sharia. He must also gain the consensus of religious leaders and the royal family before making major decisions. So, rather than an absolute monarch perhaps he can just be called a monarch.

Secondly, there are a great number of rather non-tyrannical actions that King Abdullah has carried out. Take, for instance, the interfaith dialogue he initiated in 2008 or Saudi Arabia’s position as one of the greatest contributors to development aid in both volume and in comparison to its GDP. The government of Saudi Arabia remains staunchly opposed to Al-Queda and related terrorism. Also, King Abdullah has intervened a number of times in cases where courts have been ready to carry out punishments that were too harsh or unjust.

Please keep in mind that Saudi Arabia is the seat of the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The government of Saudi Arabia sees itself as the guardian of these two cities and as a leader and caretaker of Islam. This means that the king must often tread carefully so as not to offend conservative religious sensibilities while at the same time working slowly towards reform.

Yes, Saudi Arabia does not allow women to drive and there have been many unfair sentences carried out by its courts. Yes, it has a poor human rights record and the press is not free. It is clearly not a liberal democracy, but King Abdullah is not a dictator.

And don’t get me started on Chavez. You just don’t like him because he is telling the truth about the crimes commited by your previous president. For the rest of us it was soooo fun that someone finally stood up to you and told you the truth.

Where are you from? I imagine you dont live in Venezuela or you wouldnt be so quick to laugh. And if you do, I would ask you to really think about the following for a moment:
- Chavez closed a local TV station because they were vocal in their opposition, effectively curtailing free speech. He then proceeded to “nationalize” all the equipment and set up a state-controlled channel in its place.

- Increased violence… Have you seen the crime stats for the country? This can only get better (note the heavy sarcasm) as Chavez is providing weapons to all party supporters as they must “defend party ideals”.

- Decreased financial freedom… You can no longer invest in foreign banks as it is illegal to transfer money out of the country. This has led to a booming black market where you can get more than double the official exchange rate for every dollar (IF you can get your hands on dollars, not an easy feat). New legislation has also made it increasingly difficult to use your credit card while overseas. One of my brothers recently travelled and his card was only accepted in restaurants, hotels and hospitals. Apparently, Chavez doesnt think anything else is worthwhile.

- Government blacklists which detail everyone who voted against his amendments in the national referendum. This has made it incredibly difficult for people like my brothers to get replacement IDs.

You really should think before you shoot your mouth.