This is a List of 10 Modern Dictators who were Amazingly Insane. As the old saying goes, “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. These dictators imposed their eccentricities upon their country, while ignoring poverty and/or killing opponents.

Nicolae Ceausescu was the General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965-1989. He made a scepter for himself (Isn’t Communism Anti-Monarchy?), and called himself “The Genius Of The Carpathians”. He obviously wasn’t a fan of modesty. He demanded that his, nearly illiterate, wife be made part of the New York Academy of Sciences and the Royal Institute of Chemistry, and all scientists in Romania had to include her name in their research. He claimed that his son, Nicu, had published several volumes on Nuclear Physics. He built a palace so huge that today’s Romanian Parliament can only use 30% of it. He met his end when he and his wife were overthrown and executed by revolutionaries.

Rafael Trujillo was dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952. Trujillo was one of the many dictators that thought that he was God. He ordered that all churches put up a sign that read, “ God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth.” He organized a $30 million event called the “Fair of Peace and Fraternity of the Free World”, where he appointed his daughter as Queen. He appointed his 3-Year old son as a colonel. He campaigned for his wife to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, even though she was illiterate. He made a law requiring that all license plates say “Viva Trujillo”, and finally promoted his son (still very young) to General. He was finally killed in 1961, by a group of about 11 people, and his family was forced to leave the Dominican Republic.

Idi Amin Dada was dictator of Uganda from 1971-1979. Amin reportedly ate dissidents to his regime, or fed them to his pet crocodiles. Some of his titles were “Conqueror of the British Empire”, “President for Life”, and others. He banned all Asians from Uganda because the daughter of an important Asian family refused to marry him. He also claimed to be the King of Scotland, and apparently wrote love letters to Queen Elizabeth. He fled to Libya after the demise of his regime, then to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003.

Muammar Qaddafi is the dictator of Libya. Qaddafi took power in 1969 in a revolution, and is still ruling. After three years with the title “Prime Minister” he changed it to “Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution”. All his bodyguards are female virgins, and he claims that Libya is run through a direct democracy. He has possibly the weirdest fashion sense of everybody here, for example when he wore a traditional Islamic dress with sunglasses. He blames Osama bin Laden and drugs for the 2011 Libyan Civil War, and once claimed that he conquered the U.S. He banned all Italians from Libya in revenge for the colonization of Libya during WWII. He once gave a speech in Italy, to only women, on why Europe should pay him 5 Billion Euros. He also despises Switzerland, and wrote a UN resolution on why Switzerland should be dissolved. Also, on his relations with the UN, he once gave a speech for two hours, during which he expressed support for Somali Pirates. He claimed that Israel was responsible for JFK’s assassination (Yeah, right), and once called Barack Obama “My Son”. He was only allowed a 10 minute speech.

Yahya Jammeh has been dictator of The Gambia since 1994, and has since claimed to have mystical powers. The Gambia sponsors Witch Doctors, who have abducted about 1,000 Gambians on charges of witchcraft. He intends to have a policy in The Gambia “Stricter than those in Iran”. His official title is “His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh Naasiru Deen”. He claims to have discovered the cure to AIDS/HIV. He claims that The Gambia was formerly the largest country in Africa. In his own words, this country is one of the oldest and biggest countries in Africa that was reduced to a small snake by the British government who sold all our lands to the French.”

Francisco Macias Nguema was President of Equatorial Guinea from 1968-1979, his reign ending after being overthrown by his nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who is the current dictator of Equatorial Guinea. Nguema (The Uncle) closed down hospitals in favor of his Witch Doctor Ancestry. He banned the word “intellectual” and banned fishing. He changed the national motto to “There is no other God than Macias Nguema.“ He killed the head of the national bank and hid all the money of the National Treasury in his house. On Christmas, 1975, he ordered 150 opponents executed in a football field to the tune of “Those Were The Days”. His reign of terror and insanity was finally over when he was executed by firing squad “101 times”, and was replaced by a slightly less insane, evil and strange dictator.

Niyazov was the President for Life of Turkmenistan from 1990-2006. He is most famous for naming months after himself, his family and his books. He renamed bread after his mother, and built a huge Ice Castle in the middle of Turkmenistan, a desert country. He banned make-up, gold teeth and lip syncing at concerts. He demanded that his book be given equal status as the Quran in Mosques, and all Turkmen currency has his picture. All employees must memorize the book to keep their jobs, and you could not get a driver’s license unless you memorized his book by heart. Turkmenistan is a one-party state with (of course) no opposition. As he put it, ‘There are no opposition parties, so how can we grant them freedom?’.

President For Life Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier was dictator of Haiti from 1957-1971. He once had a heart attack, and chose Clement Barbot, leader of the Tonton Macoutes,a paramilitary group, to become acting president while he recovered. When he was fully recovered, he accused Barbot of trying to take power from him. When Barbot tried to overthrow Duvalier in a coup, Francois issued a massive search for Barbot. When the police couldn’t find him, Duvalier believed he had turned into a black dog. He than ordered the death of all black dogs in Haiti. Eventually, when Barbot was caught and executed, Duvalier kept his head for Voodoo. In 1961, he ordered elections. He received 100% of the vote. He made Haitians recite a prayer every day, which went like this: “Our Doc, who art in the National Palace for life, hallowed by Thy name by present and future generations. They will be done in Port-au-Prince as it is in the provinces. Give us this day our new Haiti and forgive not the trespasses of those anti-patriots who daily spit upon our country…“. He once said that he controlled Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot JFK with voodoo. He finally died in 1971, and was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, who was known as “Baby Doc”.

Mobutu was the President of Zaire (Now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Zaire means “River”. He made a law saying that TV in Zaire cannot mention anybody but him by name. He banned all leopard print hats from Zaire, except for his own. He commanded that all evening news begin with a scene of him descending from the heavens. He chose many names for himself, including one that translates in English to “the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and will to win, will go from contest to contest leaving fire in his wake.“ He jailed anyone who did not have an African name. He was overthrown on May 16, 1997 and died on September 7, 1997, of Prostate Cancer, in Morocco. Good riddance.

And finally, we come to Kim Jong-Il, of North Korea. He took power in 1998 when his father, Kim Il-Sung, died. Kim travels with his “Pleasure Squad”, a group of beautiful women. Kim is praised as the “Creator of the Universe”, along with his father. Kim is praised as having had a supernatural birth, and claims that North Korea is the most democratic, free, and respected nation on earth. He claims that he invented the hamburger, and that he is the greatest golfer in history. He built a city right on the border of North and South Korea, just to trick South Koreans into defecting. He attempted to rid Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, of short people, because he was angry about his height. Schoolchildren are taught that he never defecates. And, finally, his grand jewel of insanity, he had two South Korean directors kidnapped to kick-start North Korea’s film industry by forcing them to make a remake of Godzilla, only Communist. He claims that North Korea is a paradise, where nobody ever experienced poverty, and where everybody leads a happy life. In real life, people are regularly tortured, and nearly all of them work in collective farms.




















Crazy indeed.
I agree with the most part of this.
So do i but i thought that Dear Robert Mugabe would make it to this list. I find it strange when he is not in a Dictator list, he is like one of the usuals (Kinda like Muammar Qaddafi).
Mugabe is truly a terrible leader, but not that insane compeared to some of the people on this list.
Kim Jong Il! Kim Jong Il! Kim Jong Il!
I keep waiting for them to say “Kim Jong feeling better”
lol
Right, don’t hold your breath, considering that he “doesn’t defecate.”
I would be more concerned about holding my breath if he did defecate.
I’d like to see some sources on that “never defecates” story. Considering this list contains some easy to prove bs in another item.
Never defecates, huh? That explains that perennial bad mood!
That explains why he’s full of crap !
Bloody brilliant.
Beat me to it!
If you read/write Korean (which you probably don’t), you’d know that “i” in Korean is pronounced as “ee”.
Il doesn’t sound like ill, it sounds like eel. Lol, which I’m sure you can make more jokes out of.
most of these have already been featured on numerous other lists in listverse.
No. 1 and 7 won’t be dictators for long (finally bout time). The other ones are either dead or close to dying so no worries.
What about Obama?
I think you will find that he was elected.
I believe that GWB is a more fitting candidate than Obama for this particular list. Yet, as I stated elsewhere on this site, he was too inept to be considered “evil” or a “dictator” but his mental faculties were definitely in question. Time will ultimately tell that potentially sordid little tale, but as the narrative stated in the opening, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”. More’s the pity.
I think that Bush was more of a figurehead, it was Dick Cheney who was the puppet master.
Cross him and he’ll shoot you in the face.
Correct. Bush said once, “You know, the hardest part of my job, is to link Iraq to the War on Terror!” And Dick Cheney would say things, and Bush would then say the exact same thing. So it`s obvious who was in charge. And Dick Cheney has defended Inquisition/Khmer Rouge torture tactics, so it`s obvious Dick “Torquemada,” Cheney was pulling the strings. Cheney was Darth Vader and George Bush the Jar Jar Binks.
But Cheney wasn’t a dictator. So technically he doesn’t make the list.
But man does he creep me out sometimes.
Dick was a real dick, the leader of the shadow government who brought us the “new Pearl Harbor” they needed to increase their power and profits on 9/11. Bush was just their ventriloquist dummy. On a lighter note, best “W” joke: “Mr. President, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq today. “W” replies, “How many in a brazillion?”
What about Obama?
Wow. I sure didn’t see that one coming. A list about bad/evil/crazy dictators, and you suggest a U.S. President. Boy, that’s some knee-slapping funny sh*it right there. Sheer genius. I don’t think ever in the history of Listverse lists has this premise ever been played. Yesiree, comedy gold. Fresh. Exhilarating. And a mere six posts in? You’re too fast for me, man. I wish I’d thought of it first. Your quick wit and amazing originality are simply breathtaking, and your delivery was impeccable. I salute you.
Well played, Mauer. Oops, I mean Maggot. Well played.
Wow someone thinks their brilliant don’t they?
Stupid American big lie big fat liarer
What a sad indictment of thousands of years of so called civilisation this list is.
Even sadder that humans can do nothing about the monsters still in control of so many people.
Alexander Lukashenko…
Hah, no s**t, the guy is also starting to lose it after 20 years in power. I bet he’ll make it onto a similar list in a few years (if he’s not overthrown, of course
…
Obviously when wanting to be a dictator your CV must read “Believe in your own God-like powers”; “Ability to ignore reality” and “Display willingness to promote family beyond their limited capabilities”. Now where do I apply?
“Isn’t Communism Anti-Monarchy?”
Well that’s cuz his regime was one of dictatorship. And technically there never was on the surface of this planet a communist regime.
“and all scientists in Romania had to include her name in their research”
Where do you get your info from? The back of toilet paper? Do you realize how ridiculous that would be if russian and western scientific papers would get ceausescu as author on all romanian papers they receive ?
Do a proper research. She only claimed several tens of research papers. Thumbs down for me to this list
Doesn’t number 4 l0ok like the head secirity guard in “Endgame’, Patrick Gallagher ?
thinking the same thing haha. isnt it nice you aint the only person thinking that.
I know! I thought I’d get cussed because I didn’t make a deep and meaningful or controversial comment, but it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw him!
oh well, we can but laugh
Well, this is a great list, a lot of these men I used to study, and show respect. But now, they confuse me with their antics.
Power corrupts. Absolute power… well, you know.
Really nice list.. Had a long laugh at most of the entries. Especially the no. 1. How come there people who actually belong to mental asylums end up as rulers? That tells a lot about the people of these countries too..
They werent democratically ellected, you idiot.
Well in that case, americans elected GWB, that says a lot about the people of america… See what i did there? Bloody fool.
First, who even mentioned America? Second, though he may very well be, who said “Bob” is American. Yeah, I saw what you did there…troll
Bush was MAYBE elected in 2004, but he stole the 2000 election! F**k the Electoral College-POPULAR VOTE NOW!!
I was just wondering why Than Shwe from Burma is not included in the list.
Here is some reference :
http://goo.gl/nIVWb http://goo.gl/szogu http://goo.gl/IYHgi
I`d like to be a dictator. Because when you`re a dictator, you get to have giant palaces, like Saddam Hussein, have your own personal Army, or try to conquer the world, like Hitler, do crazy things, like Colonel Gaddafi, have giant parades, like Kim Jong Il, give yourself titles like Idi Amin, the best thing of all though, is that you can commit genocide like Hitler or Pol Pot, and not be bothered about it, because you`re a madman. “Prime Minister for Life,” sounds cool to me..
Yet you’d live in fear of being overthrown, executed, jailed everyday. Meh, I’ll pass. I can barely govern myself.
Er no. When you`re a dictator, nobody tries to overthrow you. Because most of the time dictators are loved by their people. Just look at those thousands of people who came out for Hitler. Nobody tried to overthrow Hitler did they? And that guy who tried to blow him up, doesn`t count because he was an abberation. And who doesn`t want dozens of palaces like Saddam Hussein? dictators are usually feared too. I`d love that.
Operation Valkyrie?
That’s what I was thinking to ,valkyrie.
wow you’re dumb. Most of these people were overthrown, Qaadafi is about to be overthrown and most people don’t like Kim Jong-Il, he just throws the people who say something against him in death camps and keeps most media out so they can’t report on the awful conditions there. That’s not love and eventually he will be overthrown.
Somebody please call the FBI on this guy, there may be bodies in his basement :-/
Umm. I’m pretty sure Armadillotron was being sarcastic.
I would and wouldn’t want to be a dictator. I am morally opposed to forcing my views on others, but the temptation to do good is pretty strong. As such, power is attractive and corrupting.
no one tried to overthrow Hitler? um, there was this thing called world war 2, you may have heard of it. :/
and get to have a bitter terrible end just like them ..??
Kim Jong-il came to power in 1994.
Yup, when his father died. I think he’s got his Kims and Koreas crossed. Kim Dae-jung became the president of South Korea in 1998 (then he won the Nobel Peace Prize for a summit he held with Kim Jong il…and then word came out that he had paid North Korea nearly 600 million dollars for it).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash-for-summit_scandal
Enver Hoxha the albanian communist dictator should also be here. Just do research about him and youll see
I know, I was gonna put him here but I replaced him with Idi Amin. Expect Him In a sequel list.
Kinda badly written, no offense.
Interesting list!
However, and this is by no means an accusation of plagiarism, it is
exceptionally similar to a list on Cracked.com called “7 Modern Dictators
Way Crazier Than You Thought Possible”:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18850_7-modern-dictators-way-crazier-than-you-thought-possible_p2.html
All 7 dictators in this article feature in the list above. So perhaps lists should be devised with reference to not only what is available on Listverse, but also on other popular list-orientated sites? This is perhaps a lot to ask for, but it would certainly make Listverse a more unique site in the unquestionably listophilic world of the internet!
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The list is incredibly similar.
Actually trujillo ruled for 30 years from 1930 to 1960 and its assassination was a plot developed by the CIA, he also killed the mirabal sisters.
The onu created the international women’s day in their memory.
He also attempted to kill the president of venezuela because he developed a hatred against him.
Also he went to schools to pick up young woman, to sleep with, he preferred virgins, whoever went against his wishes would end up dead, not just the father or whoever opposed, but his/her whole family
It was actually until may of 1961. Is the first time in my entire life that i hear that his assassination was plot by the CIA. Can you provide me a source for that.
We are though that the assassination was an inside plot, as all the assassins were high rank military during trujillos’ reign displeased by the murder of close relatives and only they were persecuted during (his son) Ramfis’ revenge.
I heard that the CIA played a part in his assassination, but not that they were solely responsible for that. Trujillo was a crazy ***** nevertheless. I can’t believe I’m related to that dude. (First Cousin Thrice removed)
I agree with these, but Robert Mugabe should have been listed. Most of these on the list are not only crazy but sadistic. Especially Jong.
Good list.
Mugabe isn`t off his rocker. he`s just typical of all African strongmen who turn their country into *****holes and blame the British or “European imperialism” for it.
And you consider that the acts of a sane man
Well, he seems to be thinking it through. I’d call him more greedy and selfish than crazy. I guess that makes him just as dangerous though.
No…he’s off his rocker all right. He has delusions of grandeur. He also believes he is doing right by his people and that they love him. No…he’s mental.
About no. 9, Rafael Trujillo, Dominicans historians count his time on power from 1930 to 1961, as the governments not ruled by him during his life were families and close affiliates to the regime that would qualified them as puppet rulers.
The signs “Viva trujillo” has an interesting back story, originally the signs said “En esta casa manda trujillo” (“In this house trujillo rules (or trujillo is the man”)). Many men took it as an offense to their masculinity and their rule over their own house, so trujillo had no other choice but to change it to the one that appeared on this list.
Great list
I was born and lived in the DRC under Sese Seko (we left shortly after my birth) but I’ve heard stories from my parents about his eccentricities. Crazy chap, he was.
i was hoping to see the late Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos on this list…
Marcos was a good president. The Philippines was at it’s prime during his reign. But still he didn’t want anyone against him so he declared a martial law. And he got *****ed up. Now they don’t want him to be buried at the cemetery of heroes even though he fought on WWII and survived the Death March.
Declared martial law just to stay in power? Please don’t elect any GOOD PRESIDENTS HERE! I smell a Republican (or a pile of doggie doo, not sure which…)
Wow. . . That black dude wrote love letters to the queen?
And that asian midget invented the hamburger? LMFAO.
Why are most of them african. Not trying to be a troll here but is there a reason to this?
A troll, who goes by the name “Ni99a” (aka, Nigga) tries to mask his trolling by denying the fact that he is trolling. Yeah, very convincing.
I would guess because there are a lot of crazy dictators in Africa. Obviously that’s not a statement on the people at all – look at all the over-throwing the people of Northern Africa are doing these days.
I’d say because extremism is bred by *****ty situations and conditions. This easily helps dictators come to power. And since Africa as a continent has been bashed by the age of colonialism to the extent it has… it isn’t a wonder.
It’s not the “colonialism”, it’s the lack of education. Of course, when they were colonies, they were mostly denied it, but creating a good education structure modeled on the best Western methods should’ve been a priority after acquiring independence. The infrastructure was also there, left by those who colonized them. But nooo, they went for the guns first, then went back to tribal infighting.
I think the fact that they had no “civilization” to speak (like Europeans and Asians did for thousands of years, with big cities and trade hubs) also influenced the way Africa is today a lot – and don’t bring in racism, colonialism and slavery, I’m talking about culture – they were/still are hunters gatherers living in tribes suddenly thrown into a whole new world.
Look at how a decimated Germany rose up and reunited (remember when they were two separate countries?) to be the greatest EU power in such a short amount of time, despite pressure from all sides (US, UK, USSR, everyone were against them… for good reason, of course, but nonetheless).
A lot of it is colonialism, actually, though lack of education is a severe problem too. Kinda hard to have education when there isn’t an infrastructure to support it. But even that being said, there are plenty of African nations with pretty decent systems.
You cannot ignore the negative impact of colonialism though.
First off: Infrastructure was not actually there. Colonialism did not leave them with a system that was able to stand on its own. The systems left in place by the colonies had made them nearly entirely dependent on their mother country. Colonies provide raw materials to momma, who sells them back to the colonies (who are also a market for momma). If the colonies were self sufficient then there would be problems with momma (see the USA after all). Colonies were not designed to provide a self sustaining infrastructure, and they didn’t. Colonialism is called exploitive for a reason.
Colonialism was not exactly beneficial to the colonies. In fact, Africa may have done just fine without that interference. Here’s an example. Ethiopia was one of the few African states actually run by Africans and not a colony up until 1936. Ethiopia was doing quite well, actually, and was beginning to modernize and deal with certain tribal issues, as it were. But the point is that they were going far beyond that. Then along came the Italians in 1936 with their bombs, machine guns, etc… and well, Mussolini got his revenge for Adowa.
As far as civilization goes… depends on your definition of civilization. The Zulus had their own cities and trade hubs, in fact they were a land Empire. They had civilization. And I don’t think you can call them all hunter/gatherers (which isn’t actually all that bad and can be considered a type of society or civilization), Ethiopia, again, had cities and all that. Not too impressive in 1936 in comparison to say, London, but there you go. Basically, you try to define civilization in such a way that it only includes Europe and Asia. The Iroquois Confederacy was a civilization over in North America even before Europeans arrived, for example, and Africa had their own similar groups.
Also, those “tribal differences” were not all original. Yes, they were there and did cause some trouble, but some were actually created by the colonists. Remember Rwanda with the whole Hutus and Tootsies? (I can’t spell for the life of me). Those were actually “racial” distinctions created by the colonials. Those dubbed “more European” were given more power, and a different category. The result? When the colonials left and the power dynamic shifted…
Germany after WW2? I imagine that if a single African nation had millions (or nowadays billions) of dollars poured into it with the sole purpose of building an infrastructure then it would do just fine. Second, by the time Germany reunited? Germans wanted it, Gorbachev (of the USSR) was fine with it and actually encouraged it, and the USA wanted it as well. Doesn’t matter what France and Britain thought at the time, nor the other Communist bloc countries. I don’t think you can compare post world war Germany, a country which had only been demolished but had plenty of help rebuilding, with an entire continent who had their resources and people literally and figuratively raped for centuries. Sorry, as a continent, Africa had it worse.
Thank you for your reply, shows how little I actually know…
Also, you seem very knowledgeable about history/cultures, would you mind sharing your thoughts on the current gypsy problem in Europe (if you’re interested)? They are basically nomads and a lot of them work as beggars, is it the culture, how can they adapt? I don’t see a lot of talk about it (at least in English). Thanks again!
I have some knowledge on history and cultures, but I do not have extensive knowledge of the Gypsies.
That being said, I understand that the problem is complicated. They are a minority group and their way of life often leaves them wandering about from place to place and country to country. So I would agree that their nomadic lifestyle is part of their culture to some degree. This also makes them difficult to define within the European system because they don’t wholly fit into the countries they inhabit.
As for their future? I can’t say for sure. One option would be to forgo their lifestyle and assimilate into a particular country. That is, however, far easier said than done, particularly because of their often impoverished state and prejudice against them. Plus, why should they give up their traditions and culture? It would seem a little arrogant to demand that I think. They could also wait until Europe behaves in a more accepting manner towards them, but that is also unlikely to happen any time soon (see France). I suspect that the status quo will continue for some time.
what?! no President Marcos?!
his wife used the money for public service to buy thousands of shoes for herself!
..banning gold teeth, and lip syncing at concerts.
I would stand behind that!
‘all of Qaddafi’s personal security staff are young virgins!’ Must praise this man’s restraint.
Yeah, you gotta wonder.
I’m pretty sure Idi Amin didn’t ban Asians from the country because an Asian woman refused to marry him. Clearly an evil madman, but Uganda had a shaky relationship with race as it was when Amin came to power, after a legacy of white colonialists putting Asian (mostly Indian) immigrants in power over the Ugandan majority, which prevented many Ugandans from gaining social or political advancement in their own country, and discrimination was rampant among many of the Asian communities. Again, evil and mad the way it turned out, but this presents the much more nuanced situation as something out of a middle school romance.
“And, finally, his grand jewel of insanity, he had two South Korean directors kidnapped to kick-start North Korea’s film industry by forcing them to make a remake of Godzilla, only Communist.”
Ironically, you got it wrong. It was a director and an actress.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2821221.stm
nice to see a dictator list without the usual suspects. nice job.
Can you imagine a list about the most “insane” dictators in modern times without a mention of Pol Pot, Mao, Hitler , or Stalin? Yeah, neither could I until now.
I’m assuming that was the point of the “modern”, but it could have been defined as post 1950 or something.
That still leaves mao and pol pot.
True. I suppose they are arguably dismissed for not being quite as crazy as these other guys.
Evil, mass murdering bastards, yes. Crazy… well, yes I think they were, but as crazy as these people? Debatable.
I don’t know though, you have a good point. I kinda missed Pol Pot and Mao for some reason. And post 1950 would still include Stalin as he died in 53… oh well.
Yet, Mao, as stupid as he was when it came to economics, was arguably not the same level of bat***** insane as Kim Jung Il. And maybe the idea was to cover some of the lesser known people.
Elena Ceausescu also was Doctor Honoris Causa in different disciplines (she could barely write something,lool), they played chess only with golden pieces, they had the only few Mercedes ever brought to Romania, well they had everything they ever wished while my mom sent me at 6 in the morning to occupy a place in the queue for milk, butter and rice. My dad only received 10 litters of gas per month and ***** like that, and all this thanks to the *****ing russians, GOD in hate them!!!
I don’t have very pleasant memories from that period, we had money but we didn’t have where to spent them, irony…
Mostly true. However we had a thriving black market… Yes, the basic food stuff was harder to get but other things were not. Well, I live in Galati on the shores of Danube so fish was always plentiful. Meat too. There were some chicken and cattle farms around… can’t remember exactly. The sht hit the fan in Ceausescu’s last years when he wanted to pay the foreign debt as fast as possible, no matter the consequences on the population (the dumb bastard actually succeeded). That was his downfall. Bottom line is no one died of starvation in those days.
This list makes me really f-ing glad that I live in America. America may have its issues, but at least we don’t have to put up with the ***** in this list.
Yeah because america is causing half of the s*** in the world, only not on americas soil. Americas government has one of the bloodiest records in history, but your presidents make war under the guise of antiterrorism drugs and democracy. I feel sorry for many americans who live in a plastic bubble, believing all the lies your government tells you, never qustioning or researching their claims.
I recommend you read. Up on promnient members in your politics, george bush, cheney, sarah palin, and now obama follows in their footsteps to my dismay. I am very grateful i dont live in america, the home of macdonalds, monsanto, zero gun control and blatant hipocracy.
sanechimp u r 1 stupid motherfu ck er……and caint spell either !!!
@bigski-I see exactly ONE misspelling in Sanechimp’s over 100 words (plus 3 punctuation errors). You spelled only 4 words out of 10 right, with 2 punctuation errors (no apostrophe in can’t, and the ellipsis is only 3 dots…). You give trolls a bad name.
You are a complete idiot and utterly wrong. There is NOTHING wrong with McDonald’s! (I personally love their double cheeseburger)
What kind of biased bull***** is this?
Oh, I forgot us westerners dont have dictators……… Dickhead
You don’t consider Romania part of the West?
Romania was part of the Eastern bloc during the Cold War, and the “West’ refers to “first world” democracies in Europe and North America.
It is true that by that definition the “West” hasn’t really had any dictators since the end of WW2. Why? They wouldn’t be democracies, and hence not “the good guys.”
That being said, we’ve had some pretty crazy modern leaders in the “West”, they just weren’t dictators.
Yes but you did have the nasty habit of supporting dictators ( some guy called saddam, and many more) nut jobs (a dude called osama and again many more) or distabilizing democracies or rulers that had the support of the people (guatemala for bananas or chile and yes a few others).
Heck in most cases it’s not even the fault of the people for having a dictator. Eastern europe? Thank ussr and usa. Pol pot. Thank ussr and usa. Africa? Thank the british empire, france and any other colonial power.
“the good guys.”? Or just people that dump their problems and manipulate weakers states?
This type of democracy seems like our current model of capitalism. Great for few. Terrible for the environment and those that don’t fit in.
I was just clearing up the meaning of the “West”. Now, the quotation marks were meant to denote certain… assumptions or silliness that is rather inaccurate. For example “The West” means completely different things depending on perspective. “First world” is an interesting concept because, well, how do you join the club? How do you become “First” world? It is simply a category people like placing things in. Finally, “good guys” was meant as sarcasm, though that is how we like to see ourselves (by “we” I mean almost everyone).
I quite agree about the nature of the “west” towards dictators, but by definition, the “West” doesn’t have dictators themselves, now a days. I actually agree with you, but I didn’t see how it applies to my comment.
“I didn’t see how it applies to my comment.”
Hehe. The internet. Part rant, part adding ideas from previous comments, part why not. Can you blame me?
And i think you’ll agree with me that detecting the sarcasm in “good guys” isn’t as easy as it may appear. A lot of americans consider reagan as a great president and he has his evim empire quote.
On another point a lot of policies are in place to create a devide between them (non citizens of this fair country) and us (the citizens). And while maybe they don’t say who’s better, you will certainly be told where is better to live. God bless america? Why not god bless you know, everybody. I think we have a long way to go til we see each other as equals and start laughing at those old days when there were good guys and bad guys. Well this is my opinion atleast
Arsnl,
I had a feeling I was making a mistake by using the quotes for sarcasm. Writing is a notoriously difficult medium for expressing more subtle meanings. You are right and that was my fault.
Nah, I can’t blame you. I do it too, I just thought I’d point it out.
I personally don’t like Reagan. But, hey, each to their own opinion. And trying to convince someone that Reagan wasn’t so great isn’t worth the trouble over the Internet.
A long way to go indeed.
The list would have been easier to accept without the anecdotal “yeah, right”s, and “good riddance”s. there were also times when the author seemed like an ESL’er. Otherwise, decent. Mugabe, among others, could have been an honourable mention; what are the defining parameters the author considers ‘modern’?
They dont mind if the people text during dinner or if they put their feet on the cofee table? They’ve got a blog or they tweet : “OMG just killed 1000 people. LOL. “, ” attending mass burial. Such a downer
“? They listen to hip hop?
I have never read that Idi Amin banish all Asians because some Asian refused to marry him. I thought he banished them because the Ugandan economy was bad and he used them as scapegoats, holding them responsible for ruining the economy and taking advantage of the native black Africans.
Ths list is great. Kim jong is the craziest closely followed by papa doc.
Nicolae Ceausescu. Ah, yes, I noticed that there is no mention of his very… interesting policy towards children. He wanted the woman of the nation to have lots of them. So he didn’t like contraception, and I know he completely outlawed abortion. The result? Lots of kids in orphanages, and they weren’t exactly looked after very well. That is what happens when women are seen as baby producing factories, and treated in a way that gives them no rights over their bodies.
Kinda like Mother Teresa in Haiti or something like that.
Strangely, in principle the idea wasn’t bad. We see the problems that europe and eastern europe are facing with its ageing population. People nowadays have to work more to sustain the elders. So that’s where he had his big fat idea.
“baby producing factories”
Well that would have been good for it to be like that. Like it or not that’s what a society is. It needs to produce babies. But he just banned abortion and that was that. No special aid for families besides the regular ones.
But as a bigger picture other things were more troublesome. Like the securitate, the depriving of the society of any kind of “luxury”, queueing to get bread or meat or any type of food.
I see your point about it not being managed. But I simply cannot endorse the idea of forcing people to produce children. Though the bigger picture was worse I suppose, I just thought that this deserved a mention.
I don’t think society needs to produce babies. Society is about getting people to live together. Babies, while important, are not a necessary requirement (well, to keep the society going beyond one generation they are, but not to have a society).
I am aware of the fact that people nowadays have to work more to sustain the elders. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Why? Because there is such a thing as over population. It could be just as bad, and I would say worse, if the population just kept shooting up, which was the goal in this case. Either you can’t provide for everyone and standard of living goes down, or eventually you overshoot your population sustainability and things fall apart.
Personally I’m for having a stable population, with moderate growth or decay, but I wouldn’t try to enforce that with legislation unless things were seriously, and I mean seriously, out of hand. But I personally believe that is the best way to avoid the evils of both a high or a low birthrate.
Well there is no discution: ceausescu’s policy was wrong, banning abortion is stupid. End of that debate
But your policy isnt better:
“well, to keep the society going beyond one generation they are, but not to have a society” You are wrong. A society isnt a NOW. It is a continuum. Frankly i don’t know why I’m arguing this. It’s just so silly.
“That isn’t necessarily a bad thing” maybe you were not aware of the strikes that took place in france this year cuz of this reason. Clearly it is a terrible thing. Several million people don’t want a retirement age to increas for 1 to 2 years.
Now imagine having to work until you are 70 or 80. Who will do the heavy work in the industry.
” over population” are you a hippy? A russian, french or whatever politician doesn’t care that population is booming in china or india. In Europe there is a shortage. That’s what they care about. And they don’t want Europe to become a colony of china, for a series of VALID reasons: cultural, historical, social unrest etc.
“Personally I’m for having a stable population” And im in favor for happiness and pink hearts and distributing 10L of BAJ to every man woman or child on the surface of this planet.
I don’t want to offend or anything but your arguments are way too hippy’ish for me. It’s nice to say im for stable stuff. But population dynamics is by its nature unstable. You always have to balance things out. A few centuries ago the usa needed slaves. Afterwards it needed intellectuals. These are policies. When your govt says ok foreign people with diplomas will get jobs easier. Or mothers with 3 kids will get money. These are policies. These influence your demographic. And economics. Greece had plenty of jobs to give 3 years ago. Now it is a sinking boat. That stable population is utopia. You are wrong on so many levels i get confused about what to point out first.
Depends on definition of society I suppose.
I should have been clearer, I meant not so bad a thing when compared to the alternative of overpopulation. I’ll get to that in a moment. I am aware that the current difference in numbers between the old and the young is causing serious problems, but that is how things work. Life causes problems one way or another and it has to be dealt with in the time it effects. This generation doesn’t need to have too many kids for it to support to make up the current difference.
Overpopulation is a bad thing. So is underpopulation, to a degree. As for me being a hippy. No. I’m not. But saying an argument is bad because it comes from a hippy fits some kind of logical fallacy. Why is overpopulation bad? Because it puts a strain on resources, both natural and of the state. Strain on resources makes it difficult to live, lowers the standard of living, etc. Overpopulation is only one of the many things that puts strain on resources, but it does. In ecological terms, a land has a certain carrying capacity for different species. If the number of that species exceeds the carrying capacity bad things happen. We have modified out environment to cope with this kind of thing quite well, but it isn’t infinite.
Plus, Europe is not in danger of becoming some kind of colony of China. Such fears are misplaced, and even if they weren’t most politicians don’t think that long term. China is not a threat to the world militarily. Economically it is a huge threat to other countries, but it doesn’t seem to have an expansionist policy.
A stable population is a possibility, not some kind of unicorns *****ting marshmallows fantasy. The problem is that it would require policy intervention of some kind. Like China’s one child policy (which, when I last checked, was working). But I have moral problems with telling people how to live their lives, unless absolutely necessary. I don’t see that necessity anywhere.
Yet, you are correct in saying that population dynamics are unstable, but I think they can be managed. I’m just not sure they should be managed.
Kim Jong-Il is a guy who doesn’t give a *****… XD
“Sir I’m afraid you’ve gone mad with power!”- “Of course I have. Have you ever tried going mad without power? It’s boring; no one listens to you.” Russ Cargill (The Simpsons Movie)
Stephen Harper should be on this list.
Harper was elected. Not by the majority of the populace of Canada, but he was elected. Although handing someone a majority government in Canada is basically the same as giving them a four year dictatorship, even then there are some differences. Harper is still limited in what he can do, by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, by the fact that not all of his MPs are former members of the “Reform Alliance Party”, and that he is facing another election eventually. Canadians aren’t entirely idiotic. If Harper does half the things he really wants to then he will be out faster than a serpent strikes next election.
That is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship.
You forgot to mention that Harper was elected, not once, but 3 times. OK, so the 1st two were minorities, but Canada has warmed up to conservatism, just maybe not with Harper leading. Liberalism is dying its slow painful death. But, I digress, comparing ANY elected leader of a free and democratic society is complete and utter nonsense. These elected leaders are bound by the local constitutions to stand for re-election every now and then, be 4 years, 5 years or whatever it may be. Try tell the likes of Kim Jong Il that he needs to run in and election that the general population gets to vote in. You’ll likely be taken out and shot.
This list is old hat. I see the listverse regurgitation machine is working again.
“This list is old hat.”
Said Hugh Hefner. Well i guess at his age he saw it all.
redundant list is redundant
Maybe, but it’s got a laugh or two in it. I mean, I doubt it’s gonna spark a huge debate on morals or politics. And we already pretty much knew that these guys were crazy, it’s just about how crazy!
Was this list on cracked before?
Does Cracked define your existence?
it’s okay afwfaf, sometimes i overreact too.
but yeah john, i think it was
No.7 (Muammar Qaddafi) is one ugly mutherfckin dude, not to mention crazy as fck…
The only thing missing from this article was a good definition of “modern.” I’d say anyone who died before 1985 or so shouldn’t be included in “modern.” Then we could all shut up about Hitler.
I call bull*****.
… this was on cracked.com
Ferdinand Marcos?
I don’t really think Marcos was as “crazy” as the dictators mentioned above.
Tony Blair should be on the list as he still considers himself to be some kind of saviour of mankind when he in reality he is no more than a war mongering religious nutter.
Why are (almost) all negro rulers all so ridiculous?
Where’s LEE KUAN YEW of Singapore? He ruled for 3 decades and do you think he ruled it right? Singapore is a totalitarian state, a ‘FINE’ city and the REAL Big Brother house.
ok, but we’ve had this list before haven’t we?
also, that idiot woman of Ceausescu’s wife banned abortion completely and most meds were forbidden, one couldn’t exit the country, tv was available only 2 hours per night and other idiotic stuff.
i’m glad they were executed. they deserved it. egocentric maniacs.
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping” (2 Peter NIV
Speaking of crazy…
As a Romanian I have to clarify a few things about Ceausescu. Yes he was crazy alright, but the info you gave is slightly exaggerated. Not every chemical publication had to list his wife as a coauthor, and his son Valentin (not Nicu) was (and is) a real nuclear physicist, who studied at Imperial College. He was also instrumental in channeling funds towards research during the communist era, and was (and continues to be) appreciated by his peers.