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Government Corruption
The Greatest Scam in All of Human History
2024-03-09
[PJ] And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. — Ephesians 5: 11

The left-over expression vectors used to manufacture the mRNAs are at contamination levels 100-fold higher than originally proposed and imply trillions of DNA molecules per dose. This has implications for integration into our genome. — Jessica Rose

The old saw tells us it takes only one bad apple to spoil the barrel. Unfortunately, one good apple in a barrel of bad apples does not have a corresponding positive effect. There are, be it said, a small number of good apples in a vast Covid-scam barrel of absolutely horrendous and rotting bad apples, but it has taken an inordinately long time for the better influence to be felt.

Quantitative biologist Alex Washburne, an extremely good apple, has posted a major essay, "Scientists For Science — the "boys will be boys" of science," in which the tactics, strategies, intentions, and deceptions of the globoid villains are laid out plain to see. The con they have promoted is almost beyond belief, both in its scope and its success. Almost every country in the world, the financial elite, corporate Pharma, and the political class as a whole are implicated, with only a few exceptions like Sweden and Belarus. Professors Fredrik Andersson and Lars Jonung revel in the fact that Sweden, almost unique among nations in its pandemic policy, recognized that "China’s authoritarian government should not have served as a guide for a liberal democracy." Belarussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko claims that the World Bank and the IMF offered him $940 million to impose "extreme lockdown on his people," force them to wear face masks, decree strict curfews, establish a police state, and ultimately crash the economy.

The sordid affair begins with bum science. A group called Scientists For Science, which Washburne dubs the "pathogenic academic lobby," includes such prestigious figures, among others, as National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Francis Collins, Peter Daszak at EcoHealth Alliance and Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust. All have "financial conflicts of interest connecting [them[ to the Wuhan labs" and "ties directly to the researchers of concern [who] may have caused the pandemic." Washburne is being ginger here, relying on a modal rather than a declarative, but the purport of his 16-page thesis leaves no doubt that such was the case.
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian defense chief credits troops' loyalty for failed Wagner Group mutiny
2023-07-04
[Wash Times] A brief rebellion led by the founder of the Wagner Group mercenary army failed to oust Russia’s senior military leaders because troops remained loyal to their commanders, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday in his first known public remarks about the aborted uprising.

He said the June 23-25 mutiny was nothing less than an attempt to destabilize Russia.

"The provocation did not affect the actions of the troops. The servicemen courageously and selflessly continued to solve the tasks assigned to them," Gen. Shoigu said in an address to top Russian military officials.
"Endeavor to persevere"
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former caterer turned military commander, regularly blamed Mr. Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, for not supporting the Wagner Group and seeking to fold his organization into the Russian Ministry of Defense.

On June 23, Mr. Prigozhin claimed Russian military forces attacked his base camps — a charge Moscow vehemently denied.

Mr. Prigozhin sent his Wagner Group forces back into Russia, quickly capturing the city of Rostov-on-Don.

The rebel troops got within about 120 miles of Moscow and then suddenly stopped, apparently as a result of negotiations by Aleksandr Lukashenko, president of Belarus.

Mr. Prigozhin, who was allowed to remain in Belarus as part of the deal, said he decided to end the advance to avoid "shedding Russian blood."

"I thank the personnel for their conscientious service," Gen. Shoigu said, according to Russia’s state-owned Sputnik news agency.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.

Appears to support recent Mike Pompeo interview.
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Artemovsk. 05/18/2023
2023-05-19
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited

Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin

[ColonelCassad] 1. The enemy will lose the last positions in the city before the end of the week - the average forecast now on both sides is 1-3 days. What remains of the Artemovsk garrison will crawl back to Krasnoye and Khromovo with losses in the coming days. The rest will remain in the city, since they have already stopped taking prisoners there.

2. Since after the ousting of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Artemovsk, the fighting will continue in the fields to the west of the city, as well as in the Khromovo and Krasnoy regions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to pretend that the "Bakhmut Fortress" is standing, after which, in 1-2 weeks, they will announce that "withdrew to more advantageous positions" and "in general, Bakhmut never mattered much."

3. The current attacks to the north and south of the city are unlikely to lead to significant breakthroughs in the front, but tactical successes may allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to somewhat dampen the inevitable tantrums in Ukraine about the surrender of the Bakhmut Fortress.

4. In the middle of the day on May 18, the enemy continued to attack in the direction of Berkhovka and Kleshcheevka. There are intense battles. The enemy also continues to attack in the area of ​​Sacco and Vanzetti. The village itself is held by our troops, the enemy is pressing from the northwest and north. Those reserves are now being used, which for a long time were collected in the area of ​​​​Konstantinovka, Chasov Yar and Aleksandrovka.

5. With all the tactical troubles for us in the area of ​​​​Bogdanovka, Kleshcheevka and Sacco and Vanzetti, the continuation of these attacks after the loss of Artemovsk by the enemy will allow, with competent command and control of the Russian Defense Ministry and the strengthening of the interaction of the RF Ministry of Defense with the Wagner PMC, to grind part of the enemy’s operational reserves in Slavyansko-Kramatorsk direction, which will be of no small importance in subsequent battles to break through the defense line of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Konstantinovka-Chasov Yar-Rai-Aleksandrovka, with the aim of a full-fledged entry into the Slavnya-Kramatorsk agglomeration. The fights here will also be heavy.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/86160 - the broadcast of hostilities continues as usual in the telegram, who are interested, subscribe

More from Rozhin:
Tikhanovskaya's voters in Artemovsk
Tikhanovskaya's voters is a reference to Belorussian politician Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya, who attempted to unseat Belorussian president Aleksandr Lukashenko in 2020 presidential elections.
[ColonelCassad] Remarkable footage of the destruction of the branch of the Belarusian Nazis from the gang "Kalinovsky's regiment" appeared.

The operator patiently waited until the entire squad was unloaded and entered a house in a private sector on the western outskirts of the city, after which it flew over.



Fans of white-red-white flags are not welcome on the territory of the Russian city of Artemovsk.

PS. In the evening, "Wagner" took the last major fortified area "Domino" in the outskirts of high-rise buildings. A few hundred meters of Artemovsk remained at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow they will announce the liberation of the city.

More from Russian military blogger Andrey Chervonets
Russian Defense Ministry units expose the flanks of Wagner PMC in Artemovsk

Prigozhin said that the enemy is attacking north of the village of Sacco and Vanzetti.
Sacco and Vanzetti is an actual name of a settlement near Artemovsk
"Unfortunately, units of the Russian Defense Ministry retreated up to 570 meters north of Bakhmut, exposing our flags," said Prigozhin.

"I appeal to the top leadership of the Ministry of Defense publicly, because my letters are not read "Please don't give up the flanks.... Hold on as best you can for a few more days."

P.S.
Evgeny Viktorovich apparently means that after the final liberation of Artemovsk (about 1.28 km2 of the 41 km2 of the city area remained), the PMCs will free up forces to hold the flanks on their own. In general, it is strange, the front is basically standing still, and at the same time, the task of holding two villages causes so many difficulties for Shoigu and Gerasimov.

Yesterday Prigozhin spoke about Gerasimov's "rebound". Here is yesterday's summary from the head of the PMC:

"Today, units of PMC Wagner have advanced up to 260 meters, occupying an area of ​​180,000 square meters. The enemy has 1.28 square kilometers left under control. The enemy is putting up fierce resistance.

Fights are going on for every house, for every entrance, for every square meter territory, despite the fact that a couple of percent of the territory remained under the enemy in Bakhmut. It is not possible to encircle the enemy due to the fact that, as reported by the Ministry of Defense, the Russian Airborne Forces, as a result of the offensive in the Artemovsk region, occupied an advantageous line.

Yes, indeed, the Russian Airborne Forces, as a result of the enemy’s offensive in the Artemovsk region, occupied a line advantageous for the enemy. This new strategic maneuver, which, I am sure, will be included in all military textbooks, will be called "instantaneous, decisive rebound from the enemy", "rebound of Gerasimov".

Brusilovsky breakthrough. Therefore:

"AN INSTANT, RESOLUTION FROM THE ENEMY", unfortunately, today does not allow Artemovsk to be slammed, but we are advancing and in the coming days Artemovsk will be taken."

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Aleksandr Lukashenko dismissed the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus
2022-11-26
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russki High-Rollers Horrified By Ukrainian Mess
2014-07-21
Russia's richest businessmen are increasingly frantic that President Vladimir Putin's policies in Ukraine will lead to crippling sanctions and are too scared of reprisal to say so publicly, billionaires and analysts said.
Mrs. Bobby told me last evening that they were pulling their money out of Russia. This is the closest I could find.
If Putin doesn't move to end the war in Ukraine in the wake of last week's downing of a Malaysia Air jet in rebel-held territory, he risks becoming an international outcast like Belarus's Aleksandr Lukashenko, whom the U.S. famously labeled Europe's last dictator, one Russian billionaire said on condition of anonymity. What's happening is bad for business and bad for Russia, he said.

"The economic and business elite is just in horror," said Igor Bunin, who heads the Center for Political Technology in Moscow. Nobody will speak out because of the implicit threat of retribution, Bunin said by phone yesterday. "Any sign of rebellion and they'll be brought to their knees."
Does The Bear have an IRS? Oh, I guess the KGB/FSS/FIS would suffice.
The U.S. has already imposed penalties on state-run companies and members of Putin's inner circle. The latest sanctions, announced a day before the Malaysia Air attack, barred OAO Novatek, a gas producer partly owned by Timchenko, from using U.S. debt markets for new financing with maturities longer than 90 days. Novatek's London shares fell 8 percent over two days, cutting its market value by almost $3 billion.
Just a little ripple in the stock market, no big deal.
Amid market turmoil provoked by the Ukraine conflict, the 19 richest Russians lost $14.5 billion since the start of the year, compared to an increase in wealth of $56.5 billion for the richest 64 Americans, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In round, fat numbers, each Rooshian billionaire lost a billion, while each Capitalist/Socialist/Marxist American made a billion. Evocative comparison, don't you think?
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Belarus wants out - Foreign Affairs
2014-03-23
Russia’s partners are understandably spooked. Early in the Ukraine crisis, when pro-Western protesters were camping out in Kiev, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus’ president, seemed happy to see Russia encourage the Ukrainian regime to crack down. Like Putin, he had no desire to see Ukraine’s fellow Slavs in Russia or Belarus copying the slogans and tactics of the Ukrainian protestors. (Lukashenko is still scarred by the demonstrations that followed the controversial 2010 elections, in which he won a fourth term in office.) But Russia’s military intervention in Crimea was a very different matter. Lukashenko pointedly refused to send observers to Crimea’s March 15 referendum. He has also defied Moscow by saying that he will work with the new pro-Western government in Kiev (which Putin has described as “illegitimate”).

There are good reasons for Belarus to feel threatened. It does not have any single enclave with a majority ethnic-Russian population like Crimea, although approximately eight percent of the population in eastern Belarus is ethnically Russian. But Russia is the dominant language across all of Belarus. According to Putin’s reasoning for seizing Crimea, even Belarus could one day be a target of Russian pressure. (It’s similarly plausible, if not even more likely, that Russia would stage an intervention in Kazakhstan’s Russian-speaking north.)

Even if it is unlikely that Russia would invade Belarus anytime soon, Lukashenko does have reason to worry about the consequences of joining Putin’s Eurasian Union. For one, Lukashenko may already sense that the Eurasian Union won’t be the economic boon for Belarus that he had once imagined. Although he may have hoped that it would provide an open market for cheap Belarusian goods, its precursor, the Customs Union, has so far underscored that Belarusian goods have difficulties competing in a free market, even with goods produced in Russia or Kazakhstan.

Further, even as Russia talks of creating a mutually beneficial partnership, it has been trying to weaken the states around itself. Ukraine is not the only such example. Georgia and especially Moldova have come under pressure as they try to tie up their EU Agreements in 2014. The last thing that Lukashenko wants is to become another weak leader challenged by domestic revolt, often fomented by Russia, who then becomes dependent on Russia to survive -- as Yanukovych would have become if he had not overreacted to the protests in Kiev and been forced to flee, or as Serzh Sargsyan has already become in Armenia. Even worse, Lukashenko knows he could end up as a tin-pot dictator of a mini-state, like Yevgeny Shevchuk, the president of Transnistria, or Sergei Aksyonov, the new prime minister of Crimea.
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ousted Kyrgyz President Charged With Murder
2010-04-28
MOSCOW — Kyrgyzstan's new authorities have charged the country's former president with mass murder in the deaths of scores of antigovernment protesters earlier this month, an official in the provisional government said Tuesday.

The police and presidential guards opened fire on thousands of demonstrators on April 7, killing at least 85 people. They failed, however, to stop the protesters, who commandeered weapons and an armored personnel carrier and overran the government.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the former president, was forced to flee the country, and is currently in Belarus, where the president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has guaranteed his security.

The interim government has struggled to return order to Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished Central Asian nation that hosts a United States air base that serves as a transit hub for troops and equipment for the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

The new government has made prosecuting Mr. Bakiyev a priority, and has vowed to seek his extradition from Belarus.

“Charges have been filed against Bakiyev for exceeding his authority and also for the mass murder of peaceful citizens,' Azimbek Beknazarov, the deputy head of the provisional government, said in a news conference in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, Kyrgyz news agencies reported.

Mr. Bakiyev has said his guards opened fire only after protesters started shooting into his office at the government headquarters in Bishkek. Dozens of police officers were also injured in the violence.

The new government has said it will file charges against other members of the Bakiyev government, including some of the former president's family members.

Russia, which has pledged its support to the new Kyrgyz government, has already extradited Mr. Bakiyev's former interior minister, who had been recovering in Moscow after being severely beaten in the protests. On Monday, the provisional government said that the former minister would also face charges in the deaths of the demonstrators.

Officials in Belarus have given no indication that they intend to send Mr. Bakiyev back to Kyrgyzstan. Since arriving in Belarus last week, Mr. Bakiyev has appeared at news conferences with Mr. Lukashenko, in which he has challenged the authority of the new government in Bishkek and maintained that he remains president despite having announced his resignation in a letter to the new government.
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International-UN-NGOs
PARADE’s Annual List Of The World’s 10 Worst Dictators, annotated
2006-01-23
A "dictator" is a head of state who exercises arbitrary authority over the lives of his citizens and who cannot be removed from power through legal means. The worst commit terrible human-rights abuses. This present list draws in part on reports by global human-rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International. While the three worst from 2005 have retained their places, two on last year's list (Muammar al-Qaddafi of Libya and Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan) have slipped out of the Top 10—not because their conduct has improved but because other dictators have gotten worse.

1) Omar al-Bashir, Sudan. Age 62. In power since 1989. Last year's rank: 1
Since February 2003, Bashir's campaign of ethnic and religious persecution has killed at least 180,000 civilians in Darfur in western Sudan and driven 2 million people from their homes. The good news is that Bashir's army and the Janjaweed militia that he supports have all but stopped burning down villages in Darfur. The bad news is why they've stopped: There are few villages left to burn. The attacks now are aimed at refugee camps. While the media have called these actions "a humanitarian tragedy," Bashir himself has escaped major condemnation. In 2005, Bashir signed a peace agreement with the largest rebel group in non-Islamic southern Sudan and allowed its leader, John Garang, to become the nation's vice president. But Garang died in July in a helicopter crash, and Bashir's troops still occupy the south.
Duplicitous, brutal, and evil to the core, Omar is my choice for Number 3 worst dictator in the entire world. Sudan misses being cited as the classic failed state only because it is next door to Somalia. Omar will probably manage to split Sudan into its component parts, but the process will take a long time, and the end result may look more like Somalia than even we expect here.

2) Kim Jong-il, North Korea. Age 63. In power since 1994. Last year's rank: 2
While the outside world focuses on Kim Jong-il's nuclear weapons program, domestically he runs the world's most tightly controlled society. North Korea continues to rank last in the index of press freedom compiled by Reporters Without Borders, and for the 34th straight year it earned the worst possible score on political rights and civil liberties from Freedom House. An estimated 250,000 people are confined in "reeducation camps." Malnourishment is widespread: According to the United Nations World Food Program, the average 7-year-old boy in North Korea is almost 8 inches shorter than a South Korean boy the same age and more than 20 pounds lighter.
An hereditary dictator, Kimmie has no contact with the commons except for the occasional dancing girl. Rantburg rank: Numbah 2, but only because Bob Mugabe goes out of his way to be even worse.

3) Than Shwe, Burma (Myanmar). Age 72. In power since 1992. Last year's rank: 3
In November 2005, without warning, Than Shwe moved his entire government from Rangoon (Yangon), the capital for the last 120 years, to Pyinmana, a remote area 245 miles away. Civil servants were given two days' notice and are forbidden from resigning. Burma leads the world in the use of children as soldiers, and the regime is notorious for using forced labor on construction projects and as porters for the army in war zones. The long-standing house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and Than Shwe's most feared opponent, recently was extended for six months. Just to drive near her heavily guarded home is to risk arrest.
An insignificant pipsqueak of a dictator. Doesn't even merit inclusion in the top ten. Just another general, one of many who've ruled Burma since, I believe, 1962, during which time the army's great victories have been against its own people.

4) Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe. Age 81. In power since 1980. Last year's rank: 9
Life in Zimbabwe has gone from bad to worse: It has the world's highest inflation rate, 80% unemployment and an HIV/AIDS rate of more than 20%. Life expectancy has declined since 1988 from 62 to 38 years. Farming has collapsed since 2000, when Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms, giving most of them to political allies with no background in agriculture. In 2005, Mugabe launched Operation Murambatsvina (Clean the Filth), the forcible eviction of some 700,000 people from their homes or businesses—"to restore order and sanity," says the government. But locals say the reason was to forestall demonstrations as the economy deteriorates.
The prototypical "dictator's dictator." Brutal, rapacious, and corrupt, Bob has taken the former Breadbasket of Africa and made it into a begger state. His policies of plunder and disregard for the common folk place him at the top of my list. Rantburg rank: Numbah 1.

5) Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan. Age 67. In power since 1990. Last year's rank: 15
Until 2005, the worst excesses of Karimov's regime had taken place in the torture rooms of his prisons. But on May 13, he ordered a mass killing that could not be concealed. In the city of Andijan, 23 businessmen, held in prison and awaiting a verdict, were freed by their supporters, who then held an open meeting in the town square. An estimated 10,000 people gathered, expecting government officials to come and listen to their grievances. Instead, Karimov sent the army, which massacred hundreds of men, women and children. A 2003 law made Karimov and all members of his family immune from prosecution forever.
Karimov's harmless to the rest of the world. He's courteous enough to keep his atrocities within his own borders. Barely makes the "B" list.

6) Hu Jintao, China. Age 63. In power since 2002. Last year's rank: 4
Although some Chinese have taken advantage of economic liberalization to become rich, up to 150 million Chinese live on $1 a day or less in this nation with no minimum wage. Between 250,000 and 300,000 political dissidents are held in "reeducation-through-labor" camps without trial. Less than 5% of criminal trials include witnesses, and the conviction rate is 99.7%. There are no privately owned TV or radio stations. The government opens and censors mail and monitors phone calls, faxes, e-mails and text messages. In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, at least 400,000 residents of Beijing have been forcibly evicted from their homes.
Just another Emperor Chairman. Not a patch on Mao. 500 years from now he's just another name on a dynastic list.

7) King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia. Age 82. In power since 1995. Last year's rank: 5
Although Abdullah did not become king until 2005, he has ruled Saudi Arabia since his half-brother, Fahd, suffered a stroke 10 years earlier. In Saudi Arabia, phone calls are recorded and mobile phones with cameras are banned. It is illegal for public employees "to engage in dialogue with local and foreign media." By law, all Saudi citizens must be Muslims. According to Amnesty International, police in Saudi Arabia routinely use torture to extract "confessions." Saudi women may not appear in public with a man who isn't a relative, must cover their bodies and faces in public and may not drive. The strict suppression of women is not voluntary, and Saudi women who would like to live a freer life are not allowed to do so.
The Soddy elite aren't dictators, any more than Merwig and Chilperic were dictators, or Phillip the Fair was. Except for lopping people's heads off and gouging out an occasional eye they don't fit in the same category as Bob or Omar.

8) Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan. Age 65. In power since 1990. Last year's rank: 8
Niyazov has created the world's most pervasive personality cult, and criticism of any of his policies is considered treason. The latest examples of his government-by-whim include bans on car radios, lip-synching and playing recorded music on TV or at weddings. Niyazov also has closed all national parks and shut down rural libraries. He launched an attack on his nation's health-care system, firing 15,000 health-care workers and replacing most of them with untrained military conscripts. He announced the closing of all hospitals outside the capital and ordered Turkmenistan's physicians to give up the Hippocratic Oath and to swear allegiance to him instead.
A classical lunatic dictator with delusions of grandeur, Turmenbashi is my choice for Number 4 worst dictator in the entire world. He's got it all: 20 foot posters, a book everyone's required to read, and he named a month after his Mom. Destined to be one of the great laughingstocks of history, once the bodies have cooled.

9) Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran. Age 66. In power since 1989. Last year's rank: 18
Over the past four years, the rulers of Iran have undone the reforms that were emerging in the nation. The hardliners completed this reversal by winning the parliamentary elections in 2004 —after disqualifying 44% of the candidates—and with the presidential election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2005. Ultimately, however, the country is run by the 12-man Guardian Council, overseen by the Ayatollah Khamane'i, which has the right to veto any law that the elected government passes. Khamane'i has shut down the free press, tortured journalists and ordered the execution of homosexual males.

10) Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea. Age 63. In power since 1979. Last year's rank: 10
Obiang took power in this tiny West African nation by overthrowing his uncle more than 25 years ago. According to a United Nations inspector, torture "is the normal means of investigation" in Equatorial Guinea. There is no freedom of speech, and there are no bookstores or newsstands. The one private radio station is owned by Obiang's son. Since major oil reserves were discovered in Equatorial Guinea in 1995, Obiang has deposited more than $700 million into special accounts in U.S. banks. Meanwhile, most of his people live on less than $1 a day.
Merits inclusion only as a prototype African kleptocrat. Has the advantage of keeping the corpses mostly within his own borders.

Meet the Contenders: Dictators 11 to 20

11. Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya Age 63. In power since 1969. Last year's rank: 6
Qaddafi has made his peace with the outside world by renouncing his quest for weapons of mass destruction and opening his oil fields to foreign companies. But domestically he continues to operate a brutal regime. According to the U.S. Department of State, at least 10% of the population is engaged in surveillance of the other 90%. Libyan law provides for collective punishment in which the relatives, friends and even neighbors of someone found guilty of a crime can also be punished. Criticizing Qaddafi is considered a crime punishable by death.
Another old favorite. Col. Qaddhafi took power in 1969 and hasn't managed to get promoted since. I'll give him the Number 7 position. Muammar's smart enough to realize when he's on the wrong side of history, as long as he has 20 or 30 years to figure which way to jump. He took all the money from his oil-rich kingdom and pissed it away on foreign adventurism while the common folk became impoverished. Gets the prize for the most self-awarded medals and for his comely corps of dancing girls body guards.

12. King Mswati III, Swaziland Age 37. In power since 1986. Last year's rank: 11
Africa's last remaining absolute monarch, Mswati III took power at the age of 18. Since then he has allowed his country to slide into extreme poverty, with 69% of the Swazi people living on less than $1 a day. Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world: almost 40%. The country has operated without a constitution for 30 years. Mswati has agreed to implement a new one in 2006, however, it bans political parties, gives Mswati the right to reject any laws passed by the legislature and grants him immunity against all possible crimes.
Mswati is not a dictator. He is a clown. His chief characteristic is not cruelty, which a good dictator needs to be effective, but horniness. He is merely diddling while the country goes to pot. Doesn't even deserve a place on the list.

13. Isayas Afewerki, Eritrea Age 59. In power since 1993. Last year's rank: 17
A popular leader of Eritrea's 30-year war of liberation against Ethiopia, Afewerki became its first president in 1993. Since then he has cancelled all national elections. He also suspended the constitution, shut down all privately owned media and restricted the use of cell phones because, he says, they are a threat to national security. He recently expelled all American and European members of the United Nations peacekeeping force that is trying to stop the outbreak of a border war with neighboring Ethiopia.

14. Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus Age 51. In power since 1994. Last year's rank: 12
Europe's last dictator, Aleksandr Lukashenko was elected Belarus' first president after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Since then he has rewritten the constitution to allow him to appoint all 110 members of the upper house of the legislature, and he has harassed his opponents, sometimes having them arrested on live television. He also has mandated a return to Communist-style "mutual surveillance," encouraging workers to use "trouble telephones" to inform on one another. It is against the law to criticize him.
An idea whose time has gone. As a matter of fact, it was gone when he took power. The results show in the country's ecnomic performance. Maybe Number 8, but even that's stretching things.

15. Fidel Castro, Cuba Age 79. In power since 1959. Last year's rank: 13
Fidel Castro moved into his 47th year as the leader of Cuba, continuing his record as the longest-reigning dictator in the world. He seems to be telling his people that two generations have passed and no one in Cuba is worthy of taking his place. Cuba had one of the worst scores on Reporters Without Borders' international index of press freedom.
Fidel is everyone's favorite commie dictator, who's managed to take Cuba and make it into an economic and social backwater. His primary talents consist of the ability to give 12 hours speeches and make American leftists swoon. I'd put him at Number 5 on the list.

16. Bashar al-Assad, Syria Age 40. In power since 2000. Last year's rank: 14
A former ophthamology student, in 2000 Bashar inherited power from his father, who had ruled Syria for 29 years. Recently the Syrian government has received international condemnation for its presumed involvement in the assassination of the ex-prime minister of neighboring Lebanon. In Syria itself, "emergency rule" has been in effect since 1963. Amnesty International has documented 38 different types of torture that have been used in Syria in recent years.
I'll give Pencilneck the Number 6 position. He's not the man his father was, and in fact may not even be the man he used to be. An inept puppet, better suited for another line of work, he's busy presiding over the demise of his regime. Gone by 9-11-06.

17. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Age 62. In power since 1999. Last year's rank: 7
General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a military coup that overthrew an elected government. He appointed himself president of Pakistan in 2001 and then attempted to legitimize his rule by staging an election in 2002. However, the election did not come close to meeting international standards. Musharraf agreed to step down as head of the military but then changed his mind, claiming that the nation needed to unify its political and military elements and that he could provide this unity. He justified his decision by stating, "I think the country is more important than democracy." Prior to September 11, 2001, Musharraf was an ardent supporter of Afghanistan's Taliban regime.

18. Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia Age 50. In power since 1995. Last year's rank: unranked
Following a disputed election in May 2005, Zenawi's forces shot to death several dozen unarmed demonstrators and detained more than 10,000 political opponents. Zenawi had agreed to a mediated solution to his border dispute with Eritrea. But when the United Nations boundary commission ruled against him, he refused to comply with its decision.

19. Boungnang Vorachith, Laos Age 68. In power since 2001. Last year's rank: 20
Laos is run by the communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Freedom of expression, assembly and religion are almost nonexistent. Three quarters of Laotians live on less than $2 a day.

20. Tran Duc Luong, Vietnam Age 68. In power since 1997. Last year's rank: 19
A geology technician, Luong oversees a classic communist regime that forbids public criticism of the Communist Party, strictly controls all media and heavily censors the Internet. Political trials are closed to the public and 29 different crimes are punishable by the death penalty—including fraud, corruption and drug trafficking. In November, 2005, the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report designated Vietnam as one of eight "countries of particular concern."

Contributing Editor David Wallechinsky has reported on world figures for PARADE, including an interview with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. For more on the worst dictators, visit parade.com on the Web.
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