Poll Time Part Deux!
- Thread starter LadyT
- Start date
Good poll!
"Evil" is a subjective term, not quantifiable.
I think the "most dangerous" man in the world, is quantifiable to some degree. i.e., who has caused the most death, destruction, and instability? Who has the world's most lethal military at their fingertips, and are they sane enough to use it rationally?
I'm afraid, the answer is the Chimp.
Caveat: That's not to say Putin, or "I'mADinnerJacket" (whatever his name is) aren't kooks and bad men in their own right.
"Evil" is a subjective term, not quantifiable.
I think the "most dangerous" man in the world, is quantifiable to some degree. i.e., who has caused the most death, destruction, and instability? Who has the world's most lethal military at their fingertips, and are they sane enough to use it rationally?
I'm afraid, the answer is the Chimp.
Caveat: That's not to say Putin, or "I'mADinnerJacket" (whatever his name is) aren't kooks and bad men in their own right.
Yes, that's exactly why I voted for bush, for the reasons you give here.
But that is not to say that I don't believe Putin, if he had the exact same resources and power as bush does at his fingertips, would not be just as bad.
I know I should be frightened of him.
But, a pygmy in elevator shoes, who sports an Elvis haircut and coke bottle glasses just doesn't freak me out. Sadly, I just can't make myself wig out about him.......
It weren't for the torture and starvation of his own people I think I'd find him laughable. I voted for Putin. The fact that so many people have been poisoned basically out in the open probably signals that there is a hell of a lot more going on in Russia than we can even phatham. We've been so preoccupied with killing brown people in the middle east that most of Putin's transgressions have been largely ignored.
Putin is an amoral bastard, no doubt about that. I've always thought that this fact explains why, when bush looked into his eyes and "saw his soul" he wasn't immediately alarmed.
What he saw was, himself reflected back at him.
Lady T-
why, it seems like just yesterday that the chimp was staring longingly into Putin's baby-blues, and pronouncing him a good and decent man.
I agree that Putin is an authoritarian, who is abusive of russian democracy and liberalism. And he has the power to be a bully to his neighbors - the former Soviet republics.
But, I don't think he's crazy like Kim or I'mADinnerJacket. And russian and its military is a shadow of it's former self.
I'm not convinced that a majority of the russian people really want a jeffersonian democracy anyway. There's something about the russian soul - bred through their tortured history - that longs for some sort of benevolent strong man at the helm.
That's MO, anyway.....
why, it seems like just yesterday that the chimp was staring longingly into Putin's baby-blues, and pronouncing him a good and decent man.
I agree that Putin is an authoritarian, who is abusive of russian democracy and liberalism. And he has the power to be a bully to his neighbors - the former Soviet republics.
But, I don't think he's crazy like Kim or I'mADinnerJacket. And russian and its military is a shadow of it's former self.
I'm not convinced that a majority of the russian people really want a jeffersonian democracy anyway. There's something about the russian soul - bred through their tortured history - that longs for some sort of benevolent strong man at the helm.
That's MO, anyway.....
IHateGovernment
Is this your homework?
If you included Kim he'd have my vote. I don't know who to pick but Bush is definitely less evil than Cheney so he's automatically out. Comparing Ahmadinejad, Putin and Cheney is difficult.
We have to remember that if you transplanted these people to other countries what would they be doing. Putin might be more restrained in the US whereas Cheney might be less so in Russia.
Tough call. Robert Mugabe is a big asshole too.
We have to remember that if you transplanted these people to other countries what would they be doing. Putin might be more restrained in the US whereas Cheney might be less so in Russia.
Tough call. Robert Mugabe is a big asshole too.
i am still on the floor laughing at ''i'ma dinner jacket''....
i think that Putin could be as bad as Cheney, if he had all the amo cheney has at his fingertips....
but these bizarre poisonings via the reformed kgb is pretty scarey....
and elvis haircut, glasses and all.... kim is truely the one to be more frightened of....imho
i think that Putin could be as bad as Cheney, if he had all the amo cheney has at his fingertips....
but these bizarre poisonings via the reformed kgb is pretty scarey....
and elvis haircut, glasses and all.... kim is truely the one to be more frightened of....imho
but these bizarre poisonings via the reformed kgb is pretty scarey....
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and that's just what he's managed to let slip through the cracks. Imagine the stuff that goes on with people that live there and don't have the advantage of a foreign press.
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and that's just what he's managed to let slip through the cracks. Imagine the stuff that goes on with people that live there and don't have the advantage of a foreign press.
OrnotBitwise
Watermelon
I'd agree that "most dangerous" is a judgment more easily substantiated -- and so almost certainly more useful -- but that's not the way "evil" is usually interpreted.
When I use that word -- a rare occasion outside of flame baiting on message boards -- I'm usually referring to someone's moral stature and compassion -- or lack thereof. How willing is he to lie to achieve a goal? How willing to cause pain, suffering and death? What are the goals he pursues? And so on.
By that standard, I'd agree with IH8: it's tough to make a call between Ahmadinejad, Cheney and Putin. They're all cynical, self-agrandizing Machiavellian politicians, obviously. It's tempting to tap Putin simply because to rise to his position in early 21st century Russia took almost unimaginable ruthlessness. OTOH, the brand of bastardized political Islam touted by Ahmadinejad is itself utterly evil.
Maybe we should just kill 'em all and let Satan sort it out?
(j/k!) <----- Dept. of Homeland Insecurity Disclaimer.
When I use that word -- a rare occasion outside of flame baiting on message boards -- I'm usually referring to someone's moral stature and compassion -- or lack thereof. How willing is he to lie to achieve a goal? How willing to cause pain, suffering and death? What are the goals he pursues? And so on.
By that standard, I'd agree with IH8: it's tough to make a call between Ahmadinejad, Cheney and Putin. They're all cynical, self-agrandizing Machiavellian politicians, obviously. It's tempting to tap Putin simply because to rise to his position in early 21st century Russia took almost unimaginable ruthlessness. OTOH, the brand of bastardized political Islam touted by Ahmadinejad is itself utterly evil.
Maybe we should just kill 'em all and let Satan sort it out?
(j/k!) <----- Dept. of Homeland Insecurity Disclaimer.
Oh, Putey Pute has an authoritarian streak, and no doubt is kind of a bully and a thug.
But, are we really going to rank him up there against some real genocidal maniacs? That government in Sudan has killed at least half a million. The government in Congo is probably responsible for millions of deaths. The indonesian government has killed hundreds of thousands in Aceh and east Timor. The government in Burma is astonishingly brutal. I mean, the list of evil tin pot dictators can go on and on, before you even get close to the amount of death and assassinations Putey Pute has committed.
But, are we really going to rank him up there against some real genocidal maniacs? That government in Sudan has killed at least half a million. The government in Congo is probably responsible for millions of deaths. The indonesian government has killed hundreds of thousands in Aceh and east Timor. The government in Burma is astonishingly brutal. I mean, the list of evil tin pot dictators can go on and on, before you even get close to the amount of death and assassinations Putey Pute has committed.
That's true, good point.
To be fair, the U.S. is not directly responsible for all those deaths - many of them resulted from iraqi on iraqi violence.
But, we were responsible for setting the stage that resulted in all those deaths. I'm sure to an iraqi mother, it doesn't matter whether an errant US bomb killed her children, or whether it was gunfire from sectarian militias.
So, in principle, I agree that Bush has more innocent blood on his hands that Pooty Pute.
Very good points. But I intentially left out genocidal maniacs. Of course if you include Omar Bashir, even Shooter wouldn't hold a candle to the intentional destruction he's inflicted on innocent people. But maybe there's room for Poll Part Trois!