Evil People

[shostakovich]

I'm reading a book called The Most Evil Men and Women in History. It started with Caligula and Nero. Ivan the Terrible was in the middle. Stalin and Hitler were the last I read.

Except for Stalin, they all thought they were divinely guided.
None of them abided opposing views.
They were all resolute.
They all tortured/killed/bribed to have their will done.
Hitler was said to have "folksy charm".
They were all paranoid.
They all ruined their nations.
They all (I believe) ruled for more than 4 years.

ABBA

<small>[ 10-29-2004, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: shostakovich ]</small>

[NudewigVonB]

Sounds like just one more reason to

VOTE THE MORON OUT!!!

[RC]

Like I said before, its worse than you think. 4 years we can survive, 8 years at this pace could ruin us for decades to come.

[OperaTenor]

Yep.

ABBA

VTMO! (Here's lookin' at ya, NvB!)

[dai bread]

We at the bottom of the world await the U.S. election result with trepidation either way.

In the meantime, we are lost in admiration for Osama bin Laden's ability to manipulate the Western news media. I don't think there's been anyone as good since Joseph Goebbels.

All done from a cave in Afghanistan? I don't think so.

[piqaboo]

Bloody marvelous, isnt it.
Let Bush believe he is dead, because Bush (and frankly, the rest of us) wants to. That way he can justify that he hasnt found u*l. Did anyone think it would be easy?
And, whatever way the elections turn out, u*l can claim that he manipulated the result via his video and got the result he wanted.

[shostakovich]

In this "Evil People" book, practically every s.o.b. had control of his/her country. At that point (if not before) there was no one to say "No, you can't do that". At least no one lived to say it twice. They, the evil ones, therefore, indulged themselves in murder/torture to their hearts' content (till their reigns came to an end). They tested their limits and found no limits.

I doubt Bush will personally murder or torture anyone, but he is testing his limits and there is no one in his administration who will say "No". As a "war president" with God on his side, he will need war during his administration. He uses "war on terror" as his banner, but he needs to do it with the military. That's how he gets his kicks. Death and agony on SOMEONE ELSE is acceptable if it's the byproduct of war ("a single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.") A real war on terror would involve espionage and counter-espionage. Its status would be unknown to the citizenry. We will never have a true war on terror with Bush at the helm. He needs the visual element. You know, like in the one he avoided 30+ years ago. It may be that his desire for war now is partly compensation for what he didn't do then.

Sorry for the rant and the two bit psychological analysis. The man is DANGEROUS!
Shos

<small>[ 11-01-2004, 04:04 PM: Message edited by: shostakovich ]</small>

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

The vitriol level is getting up there again.

[shostakovich]

The oily bastard makes me positively sulfuric.

Sorry, Haggis, for not controlling myself on the name calling. I can't even try any more. I won't be able to stand myself for 4 more years.
ABBA, PLEASE!

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by Selma in Sandy Eggo:
The vitriol level is getting up there again.

Yep, and I'm peaking again... ).

Praying fervently to hear a concession speech from GWB in the very near future.

[Serenity]

Bastidges?
"We don't need no stinkin' bastidges!"

[OperaTenor]

Cool, a cross between the Killer Bees and Johnny Dangerously.

(I have this mental image of Omar Sharif in a Killer Bee suit, holding a tommy gun, saying "Fargin' Bastidges!".)

(Boy, I sure hope someone out there saw the movie.... )

[shostakovich]

From OT: "(I have this mental image of Omar Sharif in a Killer Bee suit, holding a tommy gun, saying "Fargin' Bastidges!".)"

----------------------------------------------------------

I'm missing the Omar Sharif killer bee image, but I can see Joe Piscopo mouthing off "Fargin' bastidges". Cute movie, that Johnny Dangerously.
Fargin' Shos if Bush wins

[treebeau]

You fargin bastiges!
I'm gonna cut your boils off!
Cork suckers!
Fargin iceholes!

Regards,
Tim "Maroni" B.

P.S. What a MOUTH on that guy !

<small>[ 11-03-2004, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: treebeau ]</small>

[treebeau]

For those of you who want to HEAR the fargin' bastige... Click here , here , and here .

Regards,
Tim "Danny Vermin" B.

[Serenity]

As bad as Pacino in Scarface? (Next week's poll question)

[Shapley]

Shos,

Are these people considered most evil only because of the number of people they killed? Was Hitler more evil than Jeffrey Daumer? Was Idi Amin more evil than Jack the Ripper? Osama bin Laden did not rule a country, so is he less evil than Botha?

Levels of evil are subjective. I'm sure the author thinks he is the definitive authority on the subject, but I think one can be more evil and yet do less harm. Perhaps the most evil people have never been able to obtain power to perpetrate their evil to the level needed to make it into a book. I'm sure some truly evil people have been found out before election day, and thus never made beyond city council.

Just a thought.

V/R
Shapley

[Marye]

I think, Shap, it's the divinely guided bit that makes it evil for me.

Monstrously criminal(Dalmer, Jack the Ripper..)
Hideously evil (David Koresh, Jim Jones..anyone who hears God/Allah, follow me and die)

Isn't that evil? no matter the numbers?

Then there is war.

McNamara said he wrote a report that had a hand in the fire deaths of 100,000 in Tokyo in one night!

What's the moral answer here? If you win, no harm no foul? If you lose, WAR CRIMINAL? If you do it for GOD? EVIL?

I have confused myself now. :confused:

<small>[ 11-03-2004, 07:16 PM: Message edited by: Marye ]</small>

[shostakovich]

Hi Shap. The evil people are in the book for the scope of their depravity and the numbers of people they killed. Daumer and Ripper were pikers. I finished the book today. It ended with Idi Amin.

"When Amin had seized power in 1971, Uganda was by far the most economically viable state in East Africa. There were no shortages of essential commodities and hunger and abject poverty were unknown. ------- Within a year of Amin coming to power Uganda was virtually bankrupt."

After going through the reserves he had extra money printed up. This didn't work out. He then exiled all Israelis (Amin admired Hitler) and all Asians in order to confiscate their property. When he ran out of furriners he started working on his own people. His goon squad rounded up citizens for torture and murder and took their property. Then they sought out relatives of the dead to sell them the bodies for burial. Amin lost the respect of all leaders except for Qadhafi (also spelled Gadaffi). When he was finally ousted by the Tanzanian army in 1979 it was Qadhafi who helped him escape. The last sentence in the book is interesting.

"The Brutal reign of Idi Amin was over and today he lives near Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, a guest of the royal family."

The book was written in 2002. Amin died in Aug 2003. Amin was doing his stuff during the Nixon-Ford and Carter administrations. I don't recall a furor here at the time. Amin was a guest of the Saudi Royal family during their coziness with the Bushes. I don't recall much fuss about that, either. (Osama was probably disgusted with the royals for being hosts to Amin.) I wonder what change in history may have taken place if Uganda had oil.
Shos

[shostakovich]

Hi Shap. The evil people are in the book for the scope of their depravity and the numbers of people they killed. Daumer and Ripper were pikers. I finished the book today. It ended with Idi Amin.

"When Amin had seized power in 1971, Uganda was by far the most economically viable state in East Africa. There were no shortages of essential commodities and hunger and abject poverty were unknown. ------- Within a year of Amin coming to power Uganda was virtually bankrupt."

After going through the reserves he had extra money printed up. This didn't work out. He then exiled all Israelis (Amin admired Hitler) and all Asians in order to confiscate their property. When he ran out of furriners he started working on his own people. His goon squad rounded up citizens for torture and murder and took their property. Then they sought out relatives of the dead to sell them the bodies for burial. Amin lost the respect of all leaders except for Qadhafi (also spelled Gadaffi). When he was finally ousted by the Tanzanian army in 1979 it was Qadhafi who helped him escape. The last sentence in the book is interesting.

"The Brutal reign of Idi Amin was over and today he lives near Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, a guest of the royal family."

The book was written in 2002. Amin died in Aug 2003. Amin was doing his stuff during the Nixon-Ford and Carter administrations. I don't recall a furor here at the time. Amin was a guest of the Saudi Royal family during their coziness with the Bushes. I don't recall much fuss about that, either. (Osama was probably disgusted with the royals for being hosts to Amin.) I wonder what change in history may have taken place if Uganda had oil.
Shos